Only one goalkeeper is better than Alisson and he put Jurgen Klopp through ‘pure torture’

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson was the toast of football on Wednesday, but a key statistic suggests he’s not the best in the world.

The Brazilian gloveman was in imperious form for Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie away to Paris Saint-Germain.

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Despite the hosts firing off 27 total shots and boasting 70 per cent possession, Liverpool produced a smash-and-grab 1-0 victory thanks to Harvey Elliott’s late strike 47 seconds after he came on as a substitute.

But it was Alisson who rightly stole the headlines, as his nine saves earned him man of the match honours.

The nine saves were also Alisson’s joint-most as a Liverpool player and the most of any goalkeeper for the Reds since records began in 2003.

Speaking after the match, PSG boss Luis Enrique labelled Alisson as Liverpool’s ‘best player’ while Elliott described his teammate as ‘the best in the world.’

However, as impressive as Alisson was in Paris on Wednesday, Elliott’s claim may not be entirely accurate.

Technically speaking, the crown of the best goalkeeper in the world belongs to Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez, who has won the Yashin Trophy, awarded to the best performing goalkeeper, twice in a row.

But there’s another man, who just so happens to be a Yashin Trophy alumnus, who has more of a claim to the title of the best gloveman on the planet.

That would be Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois.

The Belgian has made just over 270 appearances for Los Blancos, with his latest being a 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 clash.

Since he joined Madrid from Chelsea in the summer of 2018, the Belgian has played a pivotal role in helping the team collect a staggering amount of silverware.

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Courtois is a three-time La Liga and two-time UEFA Super Cup winner and has won the Copa del Rey, the Spanish Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.

But none of his trophies will be as special as his two Champions League triumphs with Madrid, as the Spanish giants were crowned kings of Europe in the 2021/22 and 2023/24 seasons.

Unfortunately for Liverpool fans, they were on wrong end of a Courtois masterclass in the first of his two Champions League titles.

The Stade de France in Paris was the setting for one of Courtois’ finest performances.

Courtois and his defensive unit had the tall ask of keeping Liverpool’s lethal attacking trio of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz quiet.

In one sense, the backline somewhat failed to do that given the Reds fired off 24 shots in total, with nine of those on target.

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But Courtois denied Liverpool time and time again, as Vinicius Junior’s goal – one of Madrid’s only two shots on target the entire match – proved the difference.

According to Opta, Courtois’ staggering nine saves was the most made by any goalkeeper in the Champions League final since 2004.

Jurgen Klopp, who was in charge of Liverpool at the time, could not bring himself to re-watch the final until it became necessary when the two sides faced off in the Champions League yet again the following season.

“Our own story, we played this final in Paris and I didn’t watch it back since then until this weekend,” Klopp said in February 2023.

“I realised immediately now I know why I didn’t watch it back! But I had to.

“It was proper torture. We played a good game and could’ve won the game. But we didn’t. They scored the decisive goal and we didn’t.”

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The performance against Liverpool also goes a long way to explaining why Courtois is so far ahead of Alisson in a key metric.

In a piece on The Athletic, a comparison was made which factored in non-penalty shots faced, expected goals on target (xGOT) conceded and goals conceded from the 2019/20 season to today.

Expected goals on target is a metric which helps distinguish goalkeepers who have made higher quality saves as opposed to those who have a high save count that has been boosted from low-quality shots.

From those three figures, a goals prevented and goals prevented rate was calculated.

Courtois was expected to have conceded 130.2 goals from 524 shots faced.

Instead, the 32-year-old had shipped only 109 goals, meaning he has prevented 21.2 goals at a rate of 1.2.

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Courtois’ tally of goals prevented places him first among all goalkeepers playing in Europe who have faced a minimum of 200 shots.

Alisson, who is second on the list, has faced 622 shots but has a significantly higher xGOT conceded figure of 169.7 and has conceded only 156 times.

That means the Brazilian has prevented 13.7 goals, 7-and-a-half fewer goals than Courtois.

It is worth noting The Athletic’s piece which shared the table was posted a day before Liverpool’s clash against PSG, which means Alisson’s superhuman performance was not factored in to the calculations.

With Alisson and Courtois showcasing the best of their abilities this term, it makes for a fascinating battle to see who will take out the Yashin Trophy next year.

A Champions League title for either man might be enough to sway the vote.