7 Ups & 5 Downs From Premier League 2019/20 Opening Weekend

1. Alisson's Injury

It was very much business as usual for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool – the Anfield outfit picking up where they left off last season by turning over Norwich 4-1 in their opening game – but the first game of the 2019/20 campaign was marred in misery after goalkeeper Alisson Becker went off injured.

After signing from Roma last season, the Brazilian was a pivotal part of Liverpool’s successful campaign last time out as he proved himself to be one of the best ‘keepers on the planet.

Klopp's star shot-stopper had to be substituted in the 39th minute after injuring his calf while taking a goal kick.

The early word is that the injury is a torn calf muscle that will see Alisson be out of action for six or seven weeks.

If, as expected, Alisson is out until the end of September, that would see the goalkeeper missing Wednesday’s UEFA Super Cup game against Chelsea and then league fixtures against Southampton, Arsenal, Burnley, Newcastle, Chelsea, and Sheffield United.

In 32-year-old former West Ham player Adrian, however, Liverpool still have a very good goalkeeper to call upon.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.