Peter Schmeichel boldly claimed that he feels more assured watching Ederson in between the sticks over Liverpool’s Alisson Becker.
The comments came prior to Brazil’s 4-1 thumping of South Korea in the Round of 16, in which the 30-year-old was responsible for a number of stunning saves to keep the tie overwhelmingly balanced in the Selecao’s favour.
“I like Ederson. I like the way he plays. When people say ‘yeah, he’s good with his feet’. He’s very, very good as a goalkeeper as well. He makes big saves. Crucial saves,” the former Manchester United star told beIN Sports (via HITC).
“He fits into that Manchester City team so well. Therefore, I can’t say I prefer one to the other because I don’t know how he (Ederson) would fit into the Brazil team. I think the goalkeeper that you pick for your team has to fit into the way you play.
“If you can point anything towards Alisson. Everything (he has) is the traditional goalkeeping saving. One v One. all of that. Coming for crosses, he’s very good. But there is always a mistake. It’s like he is overestimating the time on the ball he has. There is always something where you are a little bit worried. I never have that with the other one.”
The Merseysiders are set to return to competitive action on 22 December where they will face league holders Manchester City in the Carabao Cup.
Whilst we can more than appreciate the quality on offer with the Sky Blues’ No.1, we find Schmeichel’s comments hard to believe given how consistent Alisson has been in goal since he signed from Roma.
Beyond the eye test, the shostopper excels in the metrics – FOTMOB currently ranks him top (7.8) of the leaderboard for goals prevented (a full 3.6 ahead of Jordan Pickford (4.2) in second).
Perhaps there’s a little bit of United bias seeping through, though we can’t imagine Schmeichel is too fond of the idea of City (despite also playing for United’s city rivals) possessing a world-class ‘keeper of their own.
Why Scousers don’t support England – Paddy ‘the Baddy’ Pimblett hits the nail on the head
More must-reads: