<p>Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson made the 80-meter journey into West Bromwich Albion’s penalty area more in hope than any expectation of scoring the goal that would keep alive his team’s chances of reaching the Champions League.</p>
<p>After all, he’d never scored a goal in his career. No Liverpool ‘keeper had in a competitive game.</p>
<p>One textbook header from a corner changed all that in one of the most sensational moments of this or any Premier League season. Alisson — with his gloves on and unmissable in his black shirt and shorts — found space in the middle of the area to glance a header into the bottom corner from a perfect delivery by Trent Alexander-Arnold and secure Liverpool a dramatic 2-1 win on Sunday.</p>
<p>Alisson got up off the ground and was immediately mobbed by his teammates. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was speechless in his technical area.</p>
<p>A goalkeeper had scored for just the sixth time in Premier League history — none of the previous five had been a winner.</p>
<p>And Liverpool, against all the odds, could dream once again of the Champions League with one week left of the season.</p>
<p>“You can’t explain a lot of things in life," the Brazil international said. “For me, the only reason for those types of things is God — he put his hand on my head today and I’m feeling really blessed.”</p>
<p>Alisson dedicated the goal to his father, José Agostinho Becker, who drowned in February after going for a swim on his property in the southern city of Lavras do Sul in Brazil.</p>
<p>“I (wish) he was here to see it, I’m sure he is with God at his side, celebrating," he said.</p>
<p>Without that goal, Liverpool was set to miss out on finishing in the top four, its destiny no longer in its players’ hands.</p>
<p>Now, wins over Burnley and Crystal Palace will likely seal Liverpool a place in the top four and a return to the Champions League for one of European soccer’s grandest clubs.</p>
<p>Liverpool has 63 points, one behind fourth-place Chelsea and three behind third-place Leicester with two rounds remaining. Chelsea hosts Leicester on Tuesday in the next-to-last round. </p>
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<p>Steve Douglas is at <a href="https://twitter.com/sdouglas80">https://twitter.com/sdouglas80</a></p>
