Liverpool achieve clean sheet streak unseen since 2007 thanks to Brighton result
Seagulls blank was seventh straight Anfield shutout in the Premier League and that has not happened since Rafa Benitez was in charge 11 years ago
LIVERPOOL are becoming just as ruthless in defence as they are in attack as they kept yet another clean sheet at home to Brighton on Saturday.
The Seagulls win was Jurgen Klopp’s side’s seventh straight Premier League shutout at Anfield - Rafa Benitez was in charge in 2007 when Liverpool went that many games at home without conceding.
Liverpool finished fifth last season, 25 points behind Manchester City, and conceded 11 more goals than the champions leading Klopp to act.
The German smashed the world record fee paid for a goalkeeper when he bagged Alisson Becker from Roma.
The Brazilian is a huge upgrade on Loris Karius who was an accident waiting to happen every game and was the source of nerves in the Liverpool back line.
Virgil van Dijk has been full of praise for the new man in goal.
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He said: “We speak a lot. He's very vocal and that helps. It helps me and everyone in the backline. I think his presence is very good as well.
"He has a lot of qualities on the ball that help us playing. We've worked on it the whole pre-season and we'll keep building and practising. There's still a lot to do.”
But Klopp’s world record addition of the Dutch defender in January from Southampton for £75m has now been hailed as a shrewd bit of business.
And Klopp was waxing lyrical about the 27-year-old after the Brighton win took his side top of the table.
He said: “Virgil's performance was really, really good.
“Quality costs a specific price. Cars are like that. Lots of things are like that, players too.
"Nobody thinks about that now, which is good. In this market at the moment, he's at least worth it."
Former Liverpool centre-back Jamie Carragher went even further saying Van Dijk could go down as an all-time Kop great alongside Alan Hansen.
Carragher said: “I knew he was a good player, he’s better than I thought since he came in.
“Over the next three or four years, if Liverpool could win a league, a Champions League, something like that, I think Virgil van Dijk has got the potential to actually go down alongside Alan Hansen if you’re talking about Liverpool’s best ever teams.
“I think that’s how good he is and how good he will become.
“They will have to be successful, of course they would.
“But that’s how big I think a difference that player has made.”