Arne Slot shares the latest news regarding Alisson Becker at Liverpool and delivers a warning to Manchester City…

Arne Slot provides an update on Alisson Becker’s status with Liverpool and issues a caution regarding Manchester City.

Alisson Becker is currently unavailable for Liverpool, but his reliable backup, Caoimhin Kelleher, demonstrated his capabilities during the victory against Aston Villa.

Slot acknowledged that Alisson will reclaim his position as Liverpool’s starting goalkeeper upon his return to fitness, despite Kelleher’s commendable performances in his absence.

The Irish goalkeeper made his eighth appearance of the season against Aston Villa, achieving a second consecutive clean sheet that contributed to a 2-0 win for the Reds.

With goals from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah, Liverpool increased their lead at the top of the Premier League by five points, marking their 15th victory in Slot’s 17 matches in charge.

Kelleher has started six of the last seven games while Alisson has been sidelined due to a hamstring injury sustained in early October, managing to keep three clean sheets during this period.

His clean sheet against Villa marked his first in the Premier League.

However, Slot confirmed that Kelleher will return to the bench once Alisson is fit, which is anticipated to be after the November international break.

“First and foremost, Alisson needs to regain his fitness,” Slot stated. “I have consistently maintained that Alisson is our first-choice goalkeeper when fit.

“He is and will remain our primary goalkeeper as long as he is healthy. But he must first recover.

“Caoimh has performed exceptionally well, both last season and this one, but the moment Alisson is fit, he will be our first-choice keeper.”

In addition, despite his team extending their lead at the top, Slot cautioned that teams like Manchester City and Arsenal could quickly close the gap if Liverpool does not maintain their high standards.

We are striving to contend for the league title, aiming for success in the Champions League, and competing in the various cup competitions we are involved in.

We recognize that it is a lengthy season, requiring us to maintain peak performance consistently, especially since teams like Arsenal, City, Chelsea, and others are capable of achieving the same number of victories as we did in our initial 15 or 16 matches.

It is essential for us to remain at our best, a challenge that will not be simple, but we are committed to pushing ourselves to achieve this goal.