Alisson: tough decision to leave Roma for Reds

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson has told Gazzetta dello Sport he considered staying at Roma and cried when it was time to leave for the Premier League.

Alisson earned his move to Liverpool on the back of two seasons at Roma in which he finished second in Serie A in his first campaign and reached the Champions League semifinals in his second.

"Leaving Rome was difficult," he said. "I cried a lot, together with my wife. It's only right that I'm honest about it: I made a professional decision; a step forward in my career and for Roma, who earned a huge sum.

"I decided with my head to move to Liverpool, but my heart was full of tears. I spent two special years in Rome. My daughter was born there and I have a lot of friends there outside of football."

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Alisson Becker: weighing the risks and rewards

When Liverpool’s players spent a week training in the foothills of the Alps this summer, Alisson Becker revealed himself as a guitarist of reasonable talent. In the dusk of Evian and with the volume on the karaoke system dimmed, the gaucho emerged. Alisson is from Novo Hamburgo in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, a place where German is spoken and the legends are colourful horsemen and their lively cowhands. He reached for the instrument he always carries wherever football takes him and in front of an unfamiliar crowd, released an acoustic version of Don’t Look Back in Anger by Oasis.

When footballers are asked about meanings or symbolism it can often come across as schmaltz and yet listening to Alisson talk about the sort of experience that by his own admission used to result in his door being bolted, you do sense he is over what happened at Leicester City earlier this month when he tried a Cruyff turn only to be dispossessed. Suddenly, Liverpool’s 2-0 lead had been halved and though his new team would still end up winning, the focus was all on him.

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Reds beat Leicester despite Alisson howler

Liverpool overcame a terrible mistake by Alisson to beat Leicester City 2-1 on Saturday and maintain their perfect start to the Premier League season.

The visitors led thanks to Sadio Mane's well-taken 10th-minute strike - the Senegalese's fourth league goal of the season - before Roberto Firmino's downward header doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time.

However, Rachid Ghezzal - on his first start for the Foxes - took advantage of an awful error by Alisson, who got caught in possession, to give the hosts hope just past the hour-mark.

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Van Dijk and Alisson make the difference

Virgil van Dijk has said Liverpool’s £65m goalkeeper Alisson has made an immediate impact with his distribution and vocal authority.

The Brazil No 1 enjoyed a comfortable Premier League debut on Sunday when rarely tested in the 4-0 defeat of West Ham. The speed and range of his passing was evident, however, and Van Dijk believes that will only improve Liverpool’s attacking threat this season, while he and his fellow defenders have already benefited from Alisson’s more commanding presence.

The centre-back said: “He is very good. We speak a lot. He’s very vocal and that helps. It helps me and everyone in the back-line. His presence is very good as well. He has a lot of qualities on the ball and that helps us playing. We’ve worked on it the whole pre-season and we’ll keep practising. There’s still a lot to do.”

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