Tottenham star waited in tunnel for Liverpool keeper Alisson as exchange caught on camera
It may have been a miserable day for Tottenham Hotspur, but one of their players wanted to wait in the tunnel to speak to Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker.
Tottenham forward Richarlison waited in the tunnel for Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker after Sunday’s match.
On the weekend, Arne Slot’s side hit Tottenham for six in a dominant 6-3 victory in North London. It was Ange Postecoglou’s side’s eighth Premier League defeat in 17 matches and the latest example of the club shipping huge amounts of goals at home.
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When the whistle was blown, Richarlison, 27, who has been out with a hamstring injury since November, waited in the tunnel for Alisson. However, their exchange was positive, with their friendship deriving from the substantial time they spend together on international duty with Brazil.
Despite the result, Richarlison was more than happy to reunite with the shot-stopper, who has had to fight his own injury issues this season, as spotted on Liverpool’s tunnel cam on YouTube.
Richarlison could be seen standing between the changing rooms in the corridor of the tunnel, wearing a large Tottenham winter coat with his hood up. As Alisson walked past, the ex-Roma keeper, stopped, smiled and hugged his compatriot
While they were embracing, James Maddison, who scored an impressive goal against him in the first-half, also shook hands with Alisson. After a brief moment, Richarlison and Alisson went back to their respective changing rooms.
Aside from the reunion with his international team-mate, there was little for Richarlison or any other Tottenham player to smile about. The loss means they will sit down for their Christmas dinner while in 11th place in the Premier League.
Alisson and Richarlison speaking in the tunnel
They will be hoping they can overcome Liverpool in the semi-finals of the League Cup, as winning a domestic trophy appears to be their best hope of qualifying for European football next season. Many of Spurs’ struggles can be put down to the injury crisis they are enduring at the back of the field.
They are missing goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and defenders: Micky van der Ven, Cristian Romero and Ben Davies. However, Postecoglou insisted he will not be changing his ways any time soon.
After the match, he said: “The challenges we have from a squad perspective are as obvious as you want to make them. I get the idea that people think I should just flip a switch and change, and somehow that will miraculously make us a better team.
“It is what it is. I’m just going to continue, stay focused on trying to build this team to be the team we want. In the interim, we are going to accept there are going to be challenges along the way.”
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In a prickly exchange with BBC Sport, the Australian added: “If you want to discount the fact we’re missing a goalkeeper, two centre-backs and left-back and that hasn’t coincided with what we’re doing… I don’t know what to say anymore.
“It’s fairly significant, if you took out Liverpool’s goalkeeper, two centre-backs and a left-back – or any team other than Liverpool, they’d find it tough going as well.”
