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For the first time since he arrived as the most expensive goalkeeper in football history back in 2018, Alisson’s status as Liverpool’s number one was briefly called into question this summer. ‘Briefly’ being the operative word.

Liverpool completed the signing of Euro 2024 star Giorgi Mamardashvili at the end of August before promptly sending him back out on loan to his current employers, Valencia, for the rest of the season. The Georgian shot-stopper may be Liverpool’s goalkeeper of the future, but Alisson’s status as the main man of the moment was established during his first conversation with Arne Slot.

The fickle footballing fates don’t take heed of any club’s best laid plans. On the eve of October’s international break, Alisson sunk to the turf clutching his hamstring while beating the grass in frustration at another muscular injury. This is not the first enforced layoff of the goalkeeper’s trophy-laden tenure at Anfield, but it has come at an inopportune time as the Reds prepare for fixtures against Chelsea and Arsenal. Here’s how Liverpool have fared without their first-choice stopper in years gone by.

Alisson didn’t miss a minute of his first Premier League campaign, keeping 21 clean sheets while conceding just 22 goals as he won the Golden Glove award. The member of a family of goalkeepers – including his brother, mother, father and even great-grandfather – came within a point of winning a top-flight title. That lofty honour would arrive the following season.

It wasn’t until a trip to Watford on the eve of the COVID-19 lockdown that Alisson lost his first Premier League game against a club not called Manchester City. The bitter taste of defeat became increasingly familiar as Liverpool stumbled into a prolonged slump in front of Anfield’s empty stands during the ghostly setting of the 2020/21 campaign.

While the Reds emphatically failed to defend their first league title in 30 years, they did manage to salvage Champions League qualification thanks in no small part to Alisson’s memorable winner against West Bromwich Albion in May 2021. “I’ve never seen anything like that, good technique,” Klopp gushed after watching the gloved figure flick a perfect header beyond his opposite number. “I wasn’t sure what I was seeing.”

That Alisson Becker injury-time winner will NEVER get old! 😁 #Reds2021 https://t.co/OmSH4KLX0a pic.twitter.com/M6uw5bXpTB

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 31, 2021

Alisson’s best work has since come inside his own penalty box. The Brazilian won his second Golden Glove in 2021/22, but arguably enjoyed his best campaign the following year. Despite slumping to fifth in the league while conceding more than a goal per game for the first time in his Premier League career, Alisson’s underlying numbers exploded.

The former Roma custodian shipped 41 goals (not including own goals) but was faced chances which would have resulted in 51 goals against an average shot-stopper, per FBref. That was the best record of any goalkeeper in Europe’s top five leagues.

Klopp was not alone in hailing Alisson as “the best goalkeeper in the world” last term and Slot has had little reason to lose any confidence in his number one this season.

Five minutes before half-time in the opening game of his second season, Alisson pulled up against Norwich City in August 2019. Liverpool were forced to turn to Adrian, who had only joined the club four days earlier. Not only did the Merseyside giants avoid defeat during Alisson’s nine-match absence that season, but they didn’t even drop points.

In fact, the Reds have only lost two of the 28 top-flight matches without their starting goalkeeper since his arrival in 2018. The first of those rare reversals was the infamous and insane 7-2 shellacking at Aston Villa in October 2020.

Adrian kickstarted the chaos with an errant pass inside the opening four minutes which Jack Grealish snaffled up. “We played into their hands,” a steaming Klopp fumed post-game. The former West Ham keeper was not on his best form but the entire team crumbled on that unforgettable afternoon. As Klopp bluntly put it: “We kind of lost the plot.”

There was no collective head loss in Liverpool’s 1-0 reverse to Brighton in February 2021 – the only other league game without Alisson which the Reds have lost – but it did represent the Seagulls’ first Anfield victory since 1982.

On the face of it, Liverpool have actually performed better without their undisputed first-choice goalkeeper. The Reds boast a superior win rate and have an improved points-per-game ratio during Alisson’s sporadic absences.

However, these victories have been far more porous. Liverpool have only kept eight top-flight clean sheets without Alisson while shipping a considerably higher average of goals. Moreover, the Reds have also been fortunate enough to face teams inside the relegation zone in more than a third of the matches which Alisson has missed (twice as often as when the Brazilian is in the team).

Slot’s side have been afforded no such luck during the number one’s impending absence, with successive league fixtures against Chelsea and Arsenal on either side of a Champions League tie away to unbeaten Bundesliga high-flyers, RB Leipzig.

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Real Madrid suffered a huge injury blow over the weekend, with Dani Carvajal rupturing his cruciate ligament in a win over Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The injury means that the 32-year-old will miss the remainder of the 2024/25 season and, despite the right-back being handed a new contract, potentially bring his time as one of the world’s best full-backs to an end.

With that in mind, we at 90min have decided to draw up a list of potential replacements for Carvajal at Real Madrid.

It looks like Lucas Vazquez will be given an extended run at right-back following Carvajal’s injury, however if January comes around and the Spaniard isn’t performing well, then Madrid could be tempted to dip into the market for a replacement.

A relatively cheap option would be Sevilla’s Juanlu Sanchez. The 21-year-old reportedly has a fairly reasonable £21m release clause attached to his contract at Sevilla and, given his age and impressive performances since breaking into the line-up at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium, he could be a shrewd January acquisition for Los Blancos.

If Real Madrid are keen to spend a bit (a lot) more money on a new right-back, then Tottenham Hotspur’s Pedro Porro may be of interest.

The Spaniard has gone from strength to strength since joining the north London club back in 2023, becoming an integral member of Ange Postecoglou’s attacking Spurs side, and he’d provide Madrid with similar attacking prowess that Carvajal has on the right flank down the years.

At 25 years old, he’d be giving Madrid his best years too.

You were waiting for us to just cut the chase and get to the Trent Alexander-Arnold section, weren’t you?

The Liverpool star has been very, very, very heavily linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu once his contract expires in the summer of 2025.

And with terms yet to be agreed on a new deal at Anfield, with each passing day TAA’s move to Madrid feels more and more likely.

The right-back would be an exceptional signing for Los Blancos as he’d address both the right-back problem and the club’s midfield problem. In an inverted full-back role, Alexander-Arnold would expertly provide Madrid with a much needed creative passer in the middle of the park – something they haven’t had since Toni Kroos hung up his boots in the summer.

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Real Madrid defender Eder Militao has withdrawn from the Brazil squad for this month’s World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Peru. He joins Vinicius Junior in pulling out.

Militao didn’t start the weekend win over Villarreal, playing just the final 19 minutes after it was reported in the days before the game that he was dealing with thigh discomfort.

Now, the 26-year-old centre-back won’t be part of his country’s October squad and has been replaced by two-cap Flamengo defender Fabricio Bruno.

Whether a blessing in disguise for Madrid, or a cause for concern remains to be seen. With summer transfer target Leny Yoro winding up at Manchester United and David Alaba not being rushed in his ACL recovery, Carlo Ancelotti’s squad has lacked depth in the heart of defence.

Aurelien Tchouameni started alongside Antonio Rudiger against Villarreal, with Ancelotti seemingly trusting the midfielder more than serial loanee Jesus Vallejo or the inexperienced Jacobo Ramon.

Andriy Lunin has been left out of Ukraine’s squad due to illness. The goalkeeper stood in for Thibaut Courtois against Villarreal but now won’t be part of UEFA Nations League games against Georgia and Czech Republic because of what the Ukrainian federation have confirmed as a “viral infection”.

Lunin was benched by Ukraine during Euro 2024 after a horror show against Romania in their opening fixture and hasn’t been able to dislodge Benfica’s Anatoliy Trubin since. He would likely have been a spectator again this month, making his omission the sensible choice. Even so, AS has reported that Madrid expect Courtois to be back by the time they face Celta Vigo on 20 October.

Vinicius Junior suffered a neck injury at the weekend and was taken off before the end as a result. Rodrygo and Endrick remain part of the Brazil squad.

France coach Didier Deschamps didn’t select Kylian Mbappe for clashes with Israel and Belgium following a recent injury, also citing a lack of fitness during the September international break.

“I spoke with Kylian about the situation, which is still uncertain after coming on as a substitute on Wednesday [against Lille]. He has a match on Saturday [against Villarreal] and there are question,” Deschamps said last week. “He has a problem which is not serious but he needs treatment to recover properly. I am not here to take risks. That is why Kylian is not here.”

Even though Deschamps has “no doubt” about Mbappe’s commitment, the forward has faced criticism in his homeland in the wake of subsequently starting for Madrid at the weekend.

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Tottenham Hotspur threw away a commanding lead to lose 3-2 at Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, ending their five-game winning streak in all competitions.

Spurs flew into a 2-0 lead through Brennan Johnson and James Maddison but a second-half capitulation saw Yankuba Minteh, Georginio Rutter and Danny Welbeck all strike.

Spurs sit ninth in the Premier League table, two points behind Brighton in sixth.

How the game unfolded

Tottenham were behind Brighton’s backline inside 30 seconds but Timo Werner put too much on his cross to prevent Johnson opening the scoring. Maddison was then played through soon after but had his volley courageously blocked by Adam Webster.

Spurs found space for their speedy wingers to enjoy and looked to have taken the lead when the ball was bundled in by Maddison after Bart Verbruggen saved from Werner, but the offside flag went up and the decision was ratified.

There was no doubt about Tottenham’s opener which arrived a few minutes later, however.

Destiny Udogie nicked possession off Carlos Baleba, allowing Maddison to find Dominic Solanke whose pass for precise enough for Johnson to run onto it and sweep in the opener.

Brighton needed to grow into the game after falling behind and did so, with Kaoru Mitoma looking menacing with his running and dangerous deliveries. The Japan international picked out a sliding Welbeck but the striker couldn’t get the right contact and the chance went begging.

Unfortunately for the Seagulls, the calamitous error from their goalkeeper made the mountain an even steeper one to climb.

A quick breakaway culminated with Werner finding Maddison on the edge of the box. The 27-year-old’s shot was a weak one but Verbruggen made a meal of it, the ball bursting through his hands and in.

The hosts’ high line was caught again moments before half-time as Johnson scampered through, but this time the Welshman ballooned his effort clear of the crossbar.

The visitors were well organised in the first half but had only themselves to blame as Brighton clawed one back at the start of the second period. Mitoma’s ball into the middle was misjudged by Udogie, who couldn’t clear effectively and instead allowed Minteh an easy shot on goal which he buried.

Albion were much sharper after the break, with Mitoma once again involved as he brought a save from Guglielmo Vicario at his near post. The visiting defence was then carved open as Brighton drew level.

Mitoma danced inside and found Rutter, who showed power to hold off Udogie and Micky van de Ven and find the opposite corner with his finish.

From the position of strength they boasted at half-time, Spurs were somehow 3-2 down by the 66th minute. Rutter kept the ball alive by sliding cross for Welbeck, who had an easy header past Vicario to give the hosts the lead.

Both sides made substitutions as the visitors tried to get back into the game while Brighton aimed to protect or increase their lead. However, the scoring was done for the day to cap a horrible afternoon for Ange Postecoglou and a brilliant one for Fabian Hurzeler.

GK: Bart Verbruggen – 4/10 – Couldn’t do much about Johnson’s opener but won’t want to watch the second goal back again. Thankfully, his teammates bailed him out.

RB: Joel Veltman – 6/10 – Engaged in some hilarious but questionable diving antics with Maddison. Quick thinking helped Welbeck head home the winner.

CB: Adam Webster – N/A – Made a solid block early on but then when down with an injury and had to be replaced.

CB: Lewis Dunk – 5/10 – Sometimes exposed by the high line employed by his manager.

LB: Ferdi Kadioglu – 5/10 – Had difficulty keeping track of Johnson and was hauled off at half-time.

CM: Carlos Baleba – 6/10 – Lost possession as Spurs quickly countered to open the scoring. Recovered and was more consistent in the second half.

CM: Jack Hinshelwood – 6/10 – Ran doggedly in the heart of midfield.

RW: Yankuba Minteh – 7/10 – Had quiet opening 45 minutes but was on the end of a cross to lash in his first Premier League goal.

AM: Georginio Rutter – 8/10 – Also had little to do early on but then came alive to restore parity with his second goal in two games. Somehow kept the ball alive to set up Welbeck’s header.

LW: Kaoru Mitoma – 8/10 – Was a danger down the left, giving Porro difficulty with his running, and put in some dangerous crosses. One of those deliveries eventually landed at Minteh’s feet to strike before he played in Rutter to equalise.

ST: Danny Welbeck – 7/10 – Missed a really good first-half chance but made up for it by heading Brighton ahead later on.

Substitutes

SUB: Igor (9′ for Webster) – 6/10 – Replaced Webster early on and was on a tightrope from the 34th minute after catching Kulusevski.

SUB: Pervis Estupinan (46′ for Kadioglu) – 6/10

SUB: Julio Enciso (73′ for Rutter) – 6/10

SUB: Mats Wieffer (74′ for Baleba) – 6/10

SUB: Brajan Gruda (87′ for Minteh) – N/A

Subs not used: Jason Steele (GK), Tariq Lamptey, Yasin Ayari, Evan Ferguson.

Manager

Fabian Hurzeler – 8/10 – Managed to turn things around after a horrible first half, with his players responding to earn a stunning win.

GK: Guglielmo Vicario – 5/10 – Made a couple of saves but couldn’t get close to any of Brighton’s strikes.

RB: Pedro Porro – 5/10 – Had a really tough evening dealing with Mitoma and his forward forays ultimately didn’t cancel out that weakness at the back.

CB: Cristian Romero – 5/10 – Was playing great passes in the first half but he and his defence crumbled in the second half when put under pressure.

CB: Micky van de Ven – 5/10 – For someone with such a ridiculous high speed, Van de Ven was sluggish when Rutter strode through the middle to equalise.

LB: Destiny Udogie – 4/10 – Made a hash of an attempted clearance which led to Minteh halving the deficit. Later got booked for a frustrated tackle.

CM: Dejan Kulusevski – 6/10 – Charged upfield with such ease on the ball early on but Brighton managed to quieten him as the game wore on.

CM: Rodrigo Bentancur – 5/10 – Had some sloppy moments on the ball and then couldn’t hold back the flooding attacks.

CM: James Maddison – 7/10 – Doubled his side’s lead with a strike Verbruggen should have saved. His output became scratchier when Spurs started struggling.

RW: Brennan Johnson – 7/10 – Showed his increase in confidence by cooly finishing Solanke’s pass first time. Missed a good opportunity before half-time and couldn’t get going again.

ST: Dominic Solanke – 7/10 – Played a hand in both of Spurs’ first-half goals, sliding Johnson through to open the scoring. Involved in all of his side’s good attacks but couldn’t get on the scoresheet.

LW: Timo Werner – 6/10 – Missed out on an assist in the first minute but later teed up Maddison to make it 2-0. His wastefulness didn’t matter at Old Trafford last week but it cost his side dearly at the AMEX.

Substitutes

SUB: Pape Matar Sarr (79′ for Werner) – 5/10

SUB: Yves Bissouma (79′ for Bentancur) – 5/10

SUB: Mikey Moore (85′ for Maddison) – N/A

Subs not used: Fraser Forster (GK), Archie Gray, Djed Spence, Radu Dragusin, Lucas Bergvall, Will Lankshear.

Manager

Ange Postecoglou – 4/10 – Will be clueless as to how his side threw away their commanding position. A poor defensive display has ruined the good atmosphere that was brewing at Spurs after five straight wins. Had little to turn to on the bench.

Player of the match: Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton)

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Arsenal continued their impressive unbeaten start to the 2024/25 season with yet another win at the weekend.

The 3-1 victory over Southampton was the Gunners’ fourth success on the spin in all competitions and extended their unbeaten run to ten games heading into the October international break.

Goals from Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and substitute Gabriel Martinelli were enough to secure another three points in the Premier League, helping Mikel Arteta’s side keep pace with Manchester City and Liverpool in the title race.

Here’s Arsenal best-performing players in the win, according to 90min’s player ratings.

Bukayo Saka: 9/10

As he usually is, Bukayo Saka was Arsenal’s best player on Saturday afternoon.

The club’s ‘Starboy’ was instrumental in the second-half comeback, setting up Havertz and Martinelli’s goals before netting one himself in the dying embers of the game. His two assists were two of seven chances he created for his teammates in the win.

Saka’s three goal contributions took his tally for the season to ten in ten appearances in all competitions. He’s world class, there’s no doubt about it.

Honourable mentions

Kai Havertz: 8/10

It’s fair to say Kai Havertz is in the form of his life right now.

The fact the German’s goal against Southampton meant he became just the fifth player in history to score in seven straight home games for Arsenal is proof of that.

The sheer quality of the finish itself was as well, with Havertz showing immense confidence and class to curl into the bottom corner of the net from the edge of the box.

Gabriel Martinelli: 8/10

Things might be finally starting to click for Gabriel Martinelli again.

After netting his first goal of the season against Leicester City last weekend, Martinelli came off the bench to add a second to his tally on Saturday afternoon. Nice one.

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