‘I love Italy’ – Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson on Milan, Maignan, Chiesa and UCL plan | OneFootball

Liverpool goalkeeper and former Roma stopper Alisson Becker has spoken of his love for Italy and also gave his opinions on Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan and Italy international Federico Chiesa ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League match in San Siro.

The Brazil international joined Liverpool coach Arne Slot for the pre-match press conferences on Monday evening.

Alisson spent two years in Serie A with Roma, originally serving as an understudy to the recently-retired Wojciech Szczesny before going on to claim the no.1 shirt in his second season.

Liverpool made him the most expensive goalkeeper in history at the time, paying Roma a fee of €62.5m to secure his services back in 2018, although that title lasted less than a month before Chelsea shattered the record with their purchase of Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Alisson on Italy ‘pleasure’ and Milan expectations

The Liverpool goalkeeper spoke of his excitement to be back in Italy.

“It’s always a pleasure to me, coming back to this country. I also come back here on holiday with my family – it’s always a lovely and special place to be. I always repeat the same: I love Italy,” he told the press.

Alisson went on to give his verdict on what he expects from Tuesday’s game against Milan.

“Tomorrow will be a tough game for us. Before us is a great team, a huge club, an historic club – we know that because we know the history of football. We know that these two teams have competed in great finals and matchdays, there have been a couple of them in the 2000s.

“For us, it’s a pleasure to play in a game like this tomorrow. We are ready to fight to get our targets.”

Alisson also believes Milan’s slow start to the season is not an accurate reflection of the quality they have at their disposal.

“We have always been impressed by the high quality of the squad. You cannot just take a look at the last results because the quality of AC Milan is there, it’s still there, and the quality of their players too.

“We know that tomorrow will be a wholly different game, it’s a Champions League game, there will be the full motivation of players and supporters, so it will be a completely different story.”

San Siro atmosphere and ‘tough’ Italian football

Alisson also warned that there will be an intense atmosphere in the ground, despite the fact that around 20,000 tickets were unsold as of Monday morning.

He also feels that English sides have often struggled when facing Italian opposition, particularly away from home.

“If you play at a high level like we do, you need to like these kinds of settings and atmospheres, with supporters supporting you or going against you.

“I’m sure it will be a good occasion, a wonderful opportunity to play football in front of thousands of people, thousands of AC Milan supporters.

“Italian football is always tough, it’s always a problem for English teams to play versus Italian rivals, so we need to be ready.”

Alisson on Chiesa arrival

“I don’t need to give you any introduction to Federico Chiesa because he is a wonderful football player, you know him much better than we do.

“In the past years he has given proof of his quality. He got injured, he had some ups and downs, he had some bad periods, but the way he landed in Liverpool was extremely positive, to me. He arrived to our squad with a huge smile painted on his face.

“Everybody is enthusiastic about Federico and he is extremely happy about having this chance of playing in our squad. His quality, he shows it every time, every day. We are lucky to count on him, he is a top-level player who can help our team.”

Nothing but praise for Maignan

Alisson also had nothing but good words to say about his Milan counterpart, Mike Maignan.

“Maignan is a great goalkeeper, he is doing incredibly well and he has been doing so for three, four, five years. Since he came here to Milan he has always played wonderfully, and also with the French national team he has replaced a wonderful, great goalkeeper who has been a world champion.

“He is doing great, every time he goes to the pitch he plays very well. He is a very physical player, he is quick, he has technical skills. He is a very clean player. He is a very good goalkeeper, he is one of the 10 best worldwide. In terms of quality as a goalkeeper, he has advanced a lot. There are so many good goalkeepers but he is one of the best.”