Nathaniel Phillips has admitted feeling relieved that Alisson Becker beat him to a ball in Liverpool’s 2-1 win over West Brom late in the prior season.
The Merseysiders were in search of a win to keep their hopes of top four football alive in what had proven to be an extremely difficult campaign.
“I’ve never been so happy to lose a header in my life!” the centre-half told Bournemouth’s official website.
“My memories of the game are mixed. I didn’t have a great game and, as a team, we had chances but couldn’t put them away so it was a frustrating game for the most part.
“But the last few minutes are still surreal. When you look back at what happened, it was probably a huge turning point in our season trying to regain our spot in the Champions League places.
“It was a season when so much went against us but that was a moment where it felt luck was back on our side.”
The No.1 leaped highest to meet Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner in the last kick of the game to hand Jurgen Klopp’s men a late goal and a critical set of three points.
In a season that promised so much after the return of the league title to Anfield following a 30-year hiatus, the 2020/21 season couldn’t have proved simultaneously more disappointing and, paradoxically, rewarding.
There’s no questioning the reality that injuries played a defining role in the story arc of the term, with the sidelining of key men in Virgil van Dijk and Co. effectively ending our hopes of retaining our Premier League crown.
Nonetheless, moments like Alisson’s late winner can hardly be forgotten for the sheer joy and hope it provided in an otherwise bleak term.
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