AFTER HOBBLING OFF the Selhurt Park pitch, Alisson Becker’s availability for Liverpool will be in question over the next number of weeks, thereby opening up the prospect of more first team football for Caoimhin Kelleher.
The Ireland goalkeeper was not on the bench, with an illness. Instead, former St Patrick’s Athletic goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros came on. But Kelleher will add serious competition for the position over the rest of October.
Manager Arne Slot does not expect Alisson to be available for Liverpool’s Premier League match against Chelsea later this month after he sustained a suspected hamstring injury in their 1-0 win at Crystal Palace.
Liverpool’s number one has been hampered by hamstring injuries and is now expected to miss the game against the Blues following the latest international break.
Slot said: “What I do know is that when a player walks off like he did, it normally means he’s not in the Brazil squad and I don’t expect him to be in the team for the first match we play after the break.
“We have to wait and see but it will be a few weeks for him to be back. I think it is, yes (his hamstring).
“He’s clearly our number one, he’s the best goalkeeper in the world. It’s always a blow when he gets injured, not only for him but us as a team.”
Alexis Mac Allister was replaced by Dominik Szoboszlai at half-time, with Slot revealing the Argentina international suffered a groin injury.
He added: “How bad that is, it’s not for me to judge at this moment. He felt it and said ‘it’s not good to keep on playing because it could be made worse’. It’s difficult for me to say if he can play for Argentina. It was in the groin area.”
Diogo Jota’s first-half strike kept the Reds on top of the Premier League after seven matches.
Slot lauded his side’s efforts at Selhurst Park, saying: “We are hoping to do more special things. I have a very good squad and staff, we want to get the results.
“We controlled the first 60 minutes and in the last 10 we did it again. We had a very good build-up and we tired the opponents, they had to run a lot to try and make it difficult for us. The work-rate of our attackers and midfielders was extraordinary.”
Palace showed signs of improvement in the second half and squandered a golden chance through Eberechi Eze late on after he hit an effort straight at Jaros one-on-one.
Manager Oliver Glasner offered support to Eze after his side extended their winless run to seven successive league matches.
“You have to go through these periods,” Glasner said. “JP (Jean-Philippe Mateta) made the pass at the right moment and the near post was open but he didn’t see it. He’s missed several chances, he has our support. He’s the one who’s thinking about it.
“We need the competition in training, we need the support and we will get the results. The game today has given me confidence.”
