LONDON: Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker was the hero of the hour as he scored a 94th-minute goal to keep his side’s hopes of a top-four finish alive on Sunday, according to Xinhua News Agency.
Liverpool’s hopes of returning to the Champions League next season looked to be evaporating as the game away to already-relegated West Brom was level at 1-1 each after Mohamed Salah had cancelled out Hal Robson-Kanu’s opener for West Brom.
However, Alisson’s moment arrived when he produced a towering header from a corner deep into injury time to give his side a dramatic win.
The Brazilian’s father died in February when he drowned in a swimming accident.
Alisson could not even return home for the funeral at the time due to quarantine rules on foreign travel and was visibly emotional at full-time.
“I played since I remember as a human being with my father. I hope he was here to see it but I’m sure that he’s seeing with God on his side and celebrating,” said Alisson.
“You can’t explain a lot of things in life. For me, the only reason for those kind of things is God and he put his hand on my head today and I’m feeling really blessed.”
Tottenham also kept their hopes of playing in Europe alive with a routine 2-0 win at home to Wolves.
Harry Kane’s 22nd league goal of the season and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s close-range finish after Gareth Bale’s shot had been parried into his path, saw them climb into sixth above West Ham, who were held to a 1-1 draw on Saturday.
Crystal Palace won an entertaining end of season game with nothing at stake 3-2 at home to Aston Villa with Christian Benteke, Wilfred Zaha, and young full-back Tyrick Mitchell scoring for the home side, while John McGinn and Anwar El Ghazi netted for the visitors.
Finally, a debut goal by 17-year-old Daniel Jebbison gave Sheffield United a shock 1-0 win away to a lacklustre Everton, whose chances of qualifying for Europe have now vanished.
The most important game of the weekend saw Leicester City beat Chelsea 1-0 on Saturday to lift the FA Cup for the first time in the club’s history.
The two sides meet again at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday with a place in the top-four very much up for grabs.
