In an outburst which Liverpool fans will surely find incredulous, one commentator has strongly questioned the inclusion of Alisson Becker in the latest Brazil squad.
Having not featured for his country during the last international break in March, the Reds goalkeeper was called up by Ramon Menezes for the Selecao’s June friendlies against Guinea and Senegal (as per The Athletic).
It’s a decision which has enraged Globo Esporte pundit Ana Thais Matos, who took to Twitter (via Torcedores) to voice her discontent with the 30-year-old getting the call.
She blasted: “Not even Alisson would call-up Alisson these days. People act crazy or they just pretend to be. Alisson was always a great goalkeeper at the club, he was once the best in the world, but what about the national team?
“His World Cup, once again, was not good and the national team should start renewing in this sector.”
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Even if there’s a sense within Brazil that Alisson could’ve performed better in their World Cup quarter-final defeat to Croatia last year, surely anyone who’s watched him for Liverpool this season would conclude that he’s more than worthy of his place in the Selecao squad.
He was indisputably one of the Reds’ best players during a difficult campaign for Jurgen Klopp’s side, frequently pulling off stupendous saves that he had no right to make – take his performance at the Bernabeu in March, for instance.
There was the occasional error, such as in the first leg of the Champions League tie to Real Madrid, but overall he was superb, and the figures from FBref show it.
Only four Premier League goalkeepers made more saves than his 105, while just five had a better average for goals conceded per game than his 1.16.
Meanwhile, nobody in the English top flight had a better rate for post-shot xG to goals conceded than Alisson, shipping 10.1 fewer than he’d have been ‘expected’ to let in (FBref).
Of course everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but Matos’ criticism of the Liverpool number one seems utterly baffling in the wake of an excellent campaign on a personal level for the 30-year-old.
Remember, it is just her opinion. Spoken like a true sphincter muscle.