Goalkeeping has always been an important trade within the game, however, the standard at the moment seems to be higher than ever before.

If we look at the top divisions across Europe, they have a variety of world-class goalkeepers. But, two stand out over many in the last couple of years.

'Keepers play an important role in "keeping" their sides in the game. It's not just fantastic saves and clean sheets that make you a great 'keeper, it's what you do off the ball as well.

These aspects separate the world-class keepers from the average ones.

A recent poll on our official Facebook page was made to determine who is the best goalkeeper in the world between Liverpool's Alisson and Atletico Madrid's Jan Oblak.

The results favour the Atletico 'keeper with 57% believing that the Slovenian outclasses the Brazilian between the sticks.

This poll has had over 127k votes, which shows that fans have shown their appreciation to Oblak and regard him as the best goalkeeper in the world.

Both are top class, some of the saves they both make are incredible and made to look easy at the same time. Oblak just edges it with the votes, but Alisson is the second-best 'keeper in the world by far.

The Slovenian Oblak has long been considered the finest goalkeeper in the world having joined Atlético Madrid in 2014. However, Alisson has been a revelation since his arrival at Anfield in 2018.

The Brazilian, along with Virgil van Dijk, have turned Liverpool into one of the most brutal defensive outfits in Europe, winning the Champions League and were champions-elect before the coronavirus pandemic halted proceedings.

One thing is for sure, fans need to appreciate the vast array of talent in the goalkeeping position around the world, and this could very much be the golden generation of goalkeeping, with these two out on their own at the moment.