Fortress Anfield can “make the difference” – but players know it’s a two-way street

The fact Liverpool are in a phase of rebuilding is not lost on Liverpool players, including Alisson, who knows the value of Anfield when looking for a point of difference throughout the season.

Anfield opened its doors to 57,158 fans against Man United, the largest league attendance since 1949, and early doors you could sense what the new stand will offer moving forward.

Liverpool started quickly and the crowd was right behind them, but as the team struggled to make any head way against United’s low block, the noise died down around Anfield.

It has sparked fresh debates around Anfield’s atmosphere, but Alisson knows it is not up to the fans alone to ignite a reaction, that the players themselves have to “give a good feeling.”

“The supporters are massive, they always make the difference,” the Brazilian told LFCTV on Sunday.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, December 17, 2023: Manchester United's Rasmus Højlund sees his shoot saved by Liverpool's goalkeeper Alisson Becker during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester United FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

“I said before already one of the reasons that I came here was because of that, because the atmosphere here at Anfield when I played against Liverpool was amazing.

“We are going to need them for the rest of the season and we need them for the next two games that we have at home.

“We have to make this our fortress and the place that nobody can beat us.

“But we players play a big, big part on this to give a good feeling for the supporters: playing well, playing in a consistent way so they will follow us.”

It is a two-way street, supporters were more than up for it as Sunday’s contest got underway, but there few sparks to ignite it from the action on the pitch.

Liverpool had a 100 percent record at home this season prior to the visit of Erik ten Hag’s side and the 0-0 was a wasted opportunity with a place at the top of the table relinquished.

There will be an understandable level of deflation over the draw, but Alisson acknowledged the Reds are still in the early months of the rebuild of ‘Liverpool 2.0’, something “we cannot forget.”

Alisson said: “Everybody knows the power of Anfield, the atmosphere that the supporters can create here for us. In the good times they were always there – in the bad times as well.

“This is a time that everybody knows, we cannot forget, we are rebuilding a team.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, December 17, 2023: Liverpool's goalkeeper Alisson Becker during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester United FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

“As the manager says, ‘Liverpool 2.0’, and I think it’s really important to remember that they play a really big role in the achievements of the club.”

It is one setback, but there are another two huge Anfield occasions in quick succession, first against West Ham in the League Cup quarter-final and then against Arsenal on Saturday.

Let’s hope the fans and players can work in tandem to still make this week a memorable one.