Liverpool goalkeeper, Alisson Becker has dedicated his historic match-winning goal against West Brom to his later father, Jose Becker, who died in an accident at his home in Brazil on February 24.
The Brazilian shot-stopper scored a last gasp header to give Liverpool a 2-1 win from behind over West Brom, lifting the Reds a point off fourth-placed Chelsea as the fight for Champions League qualification intensifies with two matches to go.
Becker became the first keeper ever to score a goal in 129 years of the club’s history, the first goalkeeper in Premier League history to score with a header – and the first to score a winning goal.
Reacting to the goal in a post-match interview with Sky Sports, Becker said: “I’m too emotional these last months for everything that happened with me, with my family.
“But football is my life. I played since I remember as a human being with my father. I hope he was here to see it but I’m sure that he’s seeing with God on his side and celebrating.
“It’s for my family, for the boys. What a fight, sometimes we are fighting and fighting and things are just not happening as this afternoon here.
“Just scoring this goal, I’m really, really happy to help them because they fight a lot, we fight a lot together and we have a strong goal to achieve the Champions League because we won it once and you know that everything started with qualification.
“I can’t be more happy than I am now.”
“You can’t explain these things. I couldn’t be happier than l am now,” Becker added, “I just tried to run into a good place and be in a good position to try and help my players, to bring a defender, but nobody followed me. I am lucky and blessed. Some things you can’t explain.”
“I have been away from interviews for a long time because it was difficult – I always get emotional on that subject. But I want to thank all of you, all the Premier League, all the players and teams, I’ve had letters, for example, from Everton, Man City, Chelsea [and more]. I want to say thank you. If it wasn’t for you all I could never have got through it.”
Meanwhile, Becker’s gaffer – Jurgen Klopp was glad that he didn’t stop his goalkeeper from leaving the goal post to attempt the corner.
Asked whether it was his decision for Alisson to go up for the corner, Klop said: “No, I looked at the corner. I don’t exactly know. I saw Ali starting [to go up]. My part of the goal is that I didn’t shout, ‘Stay back!’ I just let him run. The last minute of the game, nobody has to ask usually a ‘keeper for going in the opposite box when you have to win, which we obviously had to. He went there and what a goal! It was incredible. Wow. We saw it now already 10 times back in the dressing room. It’s absolutely incredible. If Olivier Giroud scores a goal like this everybody says it’s a world-class goal. When Alisson is doing it, we have to say the same.
“The way that his teammates showed today how much they like him is the best description. He is a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful person and [he is] funny, smart, thoughtful, intense in moments. He is just a great guy and it couldn’t have been for a better person to have such a special moment after all that he went through. I am really, really happy for him.”
“I never saw him doing something like this. I am quite happy he doesn’t use the head too often and uses his hands. A perfect moment and if he is never doing it again, I’m fine – it is an absolutely perfect moment,” he said.
