‘Liverpool on right path again after Chelsea win’ – Reds level ‘dropped a little bit’ post-lockdown, admits Alisson

Liverpool are back “on the right path again” after the win over Chelsea, says Alisson, who has admitted that the Reds’ performance levels “dropped a little bit” post-lockdown.

Jurgen Klopp’s men had all but wrapped up their first league title in 30 years when the coronavirus outbreak brought the 2019-20 campaign screeching to a halt back in March.

The Reds stormed into a commanding 25-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the table after winning 27 of their opening 29 fixtures, while also equalling the Blues’ record for the most consecutive wins in Premier League history (18).

After harbouring fears that the season would have to be voided amid a countrywide lockdown, the prayers of Liverpool supporters across Merseyside were eventually answered when English football was cleared to resume on June 17 behind closed doors.

However, Klopp’s side were not able to pick up from where they left off in terms of consistency, as they were only able to collect 17 points from a possible 27 in their final nine matches, starting with a disappointing 0-0 draw against Everton in the Merseyside derby.

The Reds responded by beating Crystal Palace 4-0 in their next outing, and became the first team to win the title with seven matches to spare when City lost to Chelsea on July 25, before winding their season down in somewhat lethargic fashion.

Liverpool lost 4-0 to City in their first game as champions, dropped points at home to Burnley and also suffered a defeat at Arsenal before ultimately finishing with 99 points, one shy of their Manchester rivals’ all-time record.

An unconvincing 4-3 triumph over newly-promoted Leeds United on the opening weekend of the new season did little to convince the Reds’ doubters that a collective hunger for domestic success had been rediscovered, but a 2-0 win against Chelsea on September 20 served as a timely reminder of their quality.

Speaking ahead of Monday’s clash with Arsenal at Anfield, Alisson has expressed his belief that the Merseyside outfit are finally back on track after taking their foot off the gas towards the end of last season.

“We know that we dropped a little bit, we don’t know why,” the Brazilian goalkeeper told Sky Sports. “It wasn’t something we wanted to do but we knew we had to go back to our path if we want to be competitive this season for the title, because I believe this season the level is higher.

“It is just the beginning of the season, we had a difficult game against Leeds, it was an open game where anything can happen. It was 4-3 and a good game for anyone who is watching football, but a really hard game to play.

“Then you have Chelsea away and it’s a tough opponent and then the way we went to the pitch from the mental perspective, I really liked this. I like the intensity of the game, I like the way we defended also, the opponent had some opportunities to score but it was from the quality of the opponent. But what I like was our mentality on that game. I think we are on the right path again.”

Arsenal will also be protecting a 100 per cent record at Anfield having opened their latest campaign with wins against Fulham and West Ham, with Alisson well aware of the threat Mikel Arteta’s side will pose after Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat at Emirates Stadium in July.

He added: “With their quality, I believe they have a really good team on paper and they are putting out the things on the pitch. You can see they are playing together, really well organised in the defensive phase and they have fantastic strikers with really good quality who can take decisive decisions on the pitch.

“But also, I believe now with more games played, our team will do better against them. Also back with the clean sheets, it is something mental that gives you the confidence to keep on going and I believe it will be a really good match.”