Alisson to miss Brazil games because of injury at Liverpool as Slot hints at new approach
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker will miss Brazil's upcoming friendlies and likely the Premier League match against Manchester United after the international break because of the hamstring injury sustained in midweek.
Alisson was hurt backtracking toward his goal before making a save during the second half of the 1-0 loss at Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot already said Alisson would miss the league match at Chelsea on Saturday but confirmed Friday that the keeper wouldn't be joining up with Brazil for its friendlies against South Korea on Oct. 10 and Japan four days later.
Asked for a timescale for Alisson's absence, Slot said: "It depends on how fast the recovery goes. It's clear not Saturday, he's not going to play for Brazil, and I would be surprised if he'd be there for the first game after the international break (against United at Anfield on Oct. 19).
“From there on, things can go a bit faster or a bit slower. It's always difficult to say.”
It means Georgia international Giorgi Mamardashvili will get a run in the first team after joining on a fulltime basis from Valencia during the offseason.
Having also lost to Crystal Palace in the Premier League last weekend, Liverpool is coming off back-to-back defeats under Slot for just the second time since he arrived in the summer of 2024 as the replacement for long-time manager Jurgen Klopp.
Slot said he saw opponents start to work out Liverpool's style of play under him in the second half of last season — when the team was already well on its way to winning the Premier League title — and that it has continued into this campaign.
Liverpool is also trying to gel after a $570 million spending spree on new players in the summer transfer window, with the likes of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak adjusting to life at their new club.
Slot suggested Liverpool will start turning to being more efficient at set pieces — an approach he called the “new reality” in the Premier League — to break down opponents.
“Jurgen gave me a lot of gifts but one of the gifts he gave me was (finishing) third the year before and fifth the year before that, and him being so well known that a new manager came in and everybody thought, ‘OK, let’s start to play against Liverpool,’” Slot said.
“Teams played in a completely different way in the first half of the season against us than they did when we were top of the league after half the season and top of the Champions League. I can see this going into this part of this season. We have to find answers to that and last season, one of the answers was the set piece. Like many teams, we have to unlock low blocks with set pieces and this season we haven’t done that — yet.”
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