Liverpool may have crashed out of both domestic competitions already but it’s been a brilliant season for Jurgen Klopp’s side so far.

The Reds have won 18 of their 22 league games and sit four points clear at the top of the table.

They also negotiated their tricky Champions League group containing Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli and Red Star Belgrade, booking a last-16 clash with Bayern Munich.

But it’s been a slightly different Liverpool to the one we saw last season.

Klopp’s side blew other teams away during the 2017/18 campaign in their run to the Champions League final.

However, that hasn’t always been the case this time around - epitomised by their 1-0 victory over Brighton on Saturday.

Liverpool don’t need to play ‘heavy metal football’ anymore because their defensive record is so good.

Scoring one goal is often enough to win a match, and they know it.

As a result, when asked to name his player of the season so far, vice-captain James Milner snubbed the front-three of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

Milner also didn’t name Virgil van Dijk.

Instead, he opted for Liverpool’s goalkeeper, Alisson.

Alisson arrived from Roma for £67 million and has been a major upgrade on Liverpool’s previous goalkeepers.

And Milner has hailed the summer signing as “unbelievable.”

“It’s hard to pick out one player because everyone in the squad has done so well, not just the 11 who are starting,” Milner said in the new edition of the official Liverpool FC magazine.

“We have made a lot of changes during games and a number of players have come in and done really well.

“I think maybe one you could select is Alisson. Coming to a new league is never easy. It’s a new lifestyle and you are also getting used to the weather and things like that, but he’s been unbelievable: from how he is around the place, to how good he is on the pitch with his feet and with the saves he makes.

“Every single player makes mistakes and sometimes as a ‘keeper you maybe feel a bit different because mistakes often result in a goal, but if he makes a mistake it doesn’t faze him in the slightest and he remains confident and continues playing as if nothing has happened. That’s so important.

“He’s been unbelievable for us this season so far and I believe that he’ll be a massive, massive player for us going forward.”

It’s certainly an interesting choice from Milner but it’s hard to disagree.

Alisson has made some crucial saves at crucial moments this season with the only blot on his copybook being the errors against Leicester and Manchester United.

But on both on those occasions, Liverpool went on to win the game and allow fans to instantly forget about the mistakes.

And come the end of the season, Alisson could prove to be the difference between Liverpool winning a trophy or suffering yet another trophy-less campaign.