Liverpool's best Premier League XI: Gerrard, Salah & top players of modern era

From the moment he walked through the doors at Anfield in the summer of 2018, Alisson made his presence felt.

The Brazilian had arrived for what was, at the time, a world-record transfer fee for a goalkeeper and it was immediately easy to see why. Commanding, calm and superb with the ball at his feet, Alisson transformed what had previously been a problem position into one of Liverpool's strengths.

He won the Champions League in his first season on Merseyside, added the Premier League in his second, and was the UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year for 2019.

A popular, charismatic figure in the dressing room, the former Roma man is already assured of his place in Liverpool history.

With the greatest respect to Steve Finnan, Markus Babbel and Glen Johnson, all of whom enjoyed success at Liverpool, there was no competition for this position.

Alexander-Arnold's rise from a skinny, at times petulant, midfielder into arguably the world's premier right-back has been as remarkable as it has been swift.

He only made his senior debut in 2016, but since then he has morphed into a superstar of the modern game, a Champions League and Premier League winner by the age of 22, and someone who, with his delivery and vision from full-back, is helping to redefine the role.

'The Scouser in our Team' sing the Kop, and he was the only choice for this one, too.

Never mind his success as a television pundit – and he's one of the best around, by the way – Jamie Carragher could play too.

No player has made more Premier League appearances for Liverpool than the man from Bootle, who finished with 508 between his debut in 1997 and his final outing in 2013.

Carragher emerged initially as a central midfielder and later featured at both right-back and left-back – winning a cup treble there in 2001 – before settling as a centre-back under Rafa Benitez.

He was a Champions League winner in 2005, and established himself as one of Europe's top defenders in that period, as a brilliant reader of the game, a superb communicator and top-class competitor.

It took Liverpool a long time to replace him after his retirement, which says it all. 

At £75 million ($97m), he had to be good, didn't he? And he has been. Virgil van Dijk's arrival from Southampton in January 2018 instantly changed Liverpool from a good side into a great one.

The Dutchman scored on his debut – the winner against Everton, no less – but it has been his other qualities, such as his leadership, his talking, his composure, passing ability and aerial dominance, which have made him such a hit.

He has never looked anything less than at home at Anfield, winning the Champions League and Premier League, as well as the PFA Player of the Year award, in 2019.

The same year, he finished a close second to Lionel Messi in the Ballon d'Or awards. If that doesn't tell you how good he's been, nothing will. 

When Liverpool spent just £8m ($10m) to sign Robertson from relegated Hull City in the summer of 2017, few were predicting that the Scot would go on to achieve great things at Anfield.

It took him a little while to get into the team, too, but once he did, his all-action style ensured he became a firm favourite with Reds supporters.

Robertson has, with Alexander-Arnold on the opposite flank, become one of the creative hubs of a side which achieved Champions League and Premier League glory, providing aggression, speed and quality delivery from the left flank.

His link-up with Sadio Mane, and his down-to-earth off-pitch persona, have made him a hugely popular figure, and one of the best signings the club has ever made.

Unquestionably, the greatest Liverpool player of his generation, the Huyton-born Steven Gerrard seemed to carry the club at times during his remarkable 17-year Anfield career.

The midfielder made 504 Premier League appearances for the Reds, scoring 120 goals – many of them utterly magnificent. Remember his first strike, slaloming past Sheffield Wednesday in 1999? Or his piledrivers from distance against Manchester United? Everton? Arsenal? Middlesbrough?

How about his link-ups with Michael Owen, or Fernando Torres? What about his reinvention under Brendan Rodgers as a holding midfield player, which so nearly brought that elusive Premier League title in 2013-14?

Some players play an entire career without leaving just one of the memories Gerrard left. An unforgettable icon, a genuine all-time great, and the captain of this XI.

It was love at first sight for Liverpool fans with Xabi Alonso.

The Spaniard's graceful style, vision and passing range made him an instant hit for supporters, after his move from Real Sociedad in 2004. And by the end of his first season on Merseyside, he had played a key role in the Reds' Champions League success under Rafa Benitez.

Later, fans would sing about "the best midfield in the world", when Alonso starred alongside Javier Mascherano and Steven Gerrard.

He and Benitez would eventually fall out, but when Alonso left for Real Madrid in 2009, having made more than 200 appearances, he was irreplaceable – as the manager found out to his cost.

Alonso's exit was the beginning of the end for that Liverpool side, but he left some wonderful memories.

Sir Alex Ferguson used to have a very simple plan whenever Manchester United faced Liverpool in the 1990s: "Stop McManaman." He was more of a winger in those days, but would thrive in the modern era in a three-man midfield.

One imagines that Jurgen Klopp, like Ferguson, would love him. His selflessness, willingness to carry the ball, positional awareness and eye for a creative final pass make him one of the best – and perhaps most underrated – Liverpool players of the last 30 years.

McManaman made 240 Premier League appearances for the Reds, scoring 41 goals and captaining the club before departing on a free transfer in 1999. He joined Real Madrid, where he would become a firm favourite, winning two Champions League crowns. 

The worst 'one-season wonder' of all time, surely?

Mohamed Salah's exploits in his maiden campaign at Anfield, in which he scored 44 goals in all competitions and picked up both the Premier League Golden Boot and PFA Player of the Year award, were written off by some as a one-off. He couldn't carry that on, could he? He did.

The following year, he added another Golden Boot and won the Champions League, and he followed that up by firing Liverpool to the Premier League title in 2019-20.

Salah was the fastest player in Premier League history to reach 50 goals for Liverpool, needing just 69 games to do so, and holds the record for most goals (32) in a 38-game Premier League season.

And that's before we even talk about the memories – that strike against Chelsea, the solo efforts against Everton and Tottenham, the nerveless penalties and the endless work-rate.

What a player, what a signing. A Liverpool legend already.

Only one striking spot up for grabs here, and really only one contender. Other players scored more – sorry, Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler – and others stuck around longer, but none could match Luis Suarez's sheer genius.

The Uruguayan joined Liverpool from Ajax in January 2011, scored on his debut and then bewitched fans and defenders alike until his departure in the summer of 2014.

There were controversies, and his legacy must be viewed in the context of those, and his sole trophy was the 2012 League Cup, but his performances at Liverpool were simply astonishing.

He scored 82 goals in 133 appearances, many of them spectacular, and in 2013-14 came so close to firing Brendan Rodgers' side to Premier League glory.

He left for Barcelona at the end of that season, but he'll never be forgotten by those who watched him open-mouthed during his three-and-a-half years on Merseyside.

Since scoring on his Liverpool debut at Arsenal in August 2016, Mane has established himself as one of the world's premier attackers, a non-stop bundle of energy, speed and deadly finishing ability.

He looked a good player at Southampton, but has gone up several levels under Klopp. He was the Reds' player of the year in his first season, playing on the right of the attack and scoring 13 goals.

Then, came 20 in his second season, when he moved to the left, 26 in his third and 22 in 2019-20, when the Senegal international became a Premier League champion.

Alongside Salah and Roberto Firmino, Mane has formed perhaps the deadliest forward line in Liverpool's history. He will be remembered as Klopp's first great signing, the man who kickstarted the German's reign. 

OK, so the apologies must start here.

First of all, Fowler must feel most hard done to. No player scored more Premier League goals for Liverpool, and no player has been so adored by supporters. Had we gone with a 4-4-2, he'd have been up front with Suarez, no question.

There will actually be three centre-forwards on the bench, with Fernando Torres and Firmino joining Fowler among the subs. Torres was unplayable for a couple of seasons, while Firmino's selfless brilliance enabled the likes of Salah and Mane to flourish. Without the Brazilian, Liverpool would not have achieved what they have under Klopp.

In terms of a substitute goalkeeper, Pepe Reina is the obvious choice, while there must be a place for Sami Hyypia as back-up centre-back. 

Jordan Henderson, the man who lifted the Premier League trophy, has to be in the squad, too, while we've gone for his sidekick James Milner as our final sub, given his versatility and penalty-taking brilliance.