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Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson was disappointed with his team-mate’s attitude during Wednesday night’s 1-0 defeat by Real Madrid.
The Reds exited the Champions League following a 6-2 aggregate defeat to the reigning European champions.
Jurgen Klopp’s side had to pull off one of the best comebacks in their history to qualify for the round of 16 of the competition, but they came close.
Darwin Nunez had a good chance early in the game and had he scored it might have been a different result.
But alas, that was not to be the case and Liverpool have been eliminated meaning they must finish in the top four of the Premier League to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Alisson made some excellent saves at the Bernabeu and was not impressed by Liverpool’s full backs.
The Brazilian international insisted on leaving the field with his head held high afterwards a disappointing show by the vast majority of his teammates.
“I think every moment of the season had its reason and today we can say it was the attitude of the players on the pitch,” Alisson told TNT Sports. “Perhaps because of the first game, which was a very elastic score.
“Coming here, beating Real Madrid away from home, it’s difficult… speaking as a human being now, it’s difficult for you to create that expectation of qualification.
“Now, mate, I’m wearing the Liverpool shirt, I’m going to play against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. The least I have to do is give my best.
“So this is my thought, I think I did my best, I’m leaving with a clear head. And now speaking as a team, we have a lot more to do. And in this season of ups and downs, every moment had its reason.
“We’ve had some injuries, I think in football we don’t like to talk about them. We won’t use it as an excuse, but the injuries certainly hurt us.
“Now we only have one player left out, so it’s no longer an excuse. It’s been like this for over a month now.
“We had a fantastic match, incredible [Manchester] United. Soon after, an inexplicable match against Bournemouth. And against Real Madrid it’s not that we played badly, but we didn’t play enough to draw the game.
“There was a lack of attitude, there was a lot missing from us.”
Meanwhile, Alisson’s opposing number Thibaut Courtois believes Real Madrid’s continued success in Europe can counterbalance the power of the Premier League.
While English clubs may have the financial clout, the La Liga giants have proven they are still the team to be reckoned with at European elite level and a 6-2 aggregate win over Liverpool took them through to the quarter-finals again.
“It’s hard to say whether it’s the best league or not, but certainly with the new investment in Chelsea, City and Newcastle, there’s a lot of attraction to go to the Premier League,” said the former Chelsea goalkeeper.
“It’s a really exciting championship, that’s for sure, a great competitive championship and the level is really high. But I think we show that we have a great team and that you can’t underestimate the Spanish teams. We showed it again.
“Obviously it’s nice to beat English teams because I’ve been there for a few years, but when you’re in the Champions League you want to win against everyone, maybe after that it’ll be the Portuguese and Italian clubs.”
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