Gini Wijnaldum, Naby Keita, Curtis Jones, and even Thiago Alcantara all experienced it. We as fans have preconceived notions about how a player will be used, so when it doesn’t go as planned, we’re quick to accuse them of being wasted. Alexis Mac Allister is currently experiencing the same thing.
The 24-year-old World Cup winner was the subject of a lot of discussion after the 2-2 draw with Brighton. How Jurgen Klopp was misusing him by playing him in the defensive midfield position, and how this wasn’t doing him any favors. There appeared to be a presumption that the player wearing number 10 would enter the game as one of the advanced midfielders. that he would be given the opportunity to do his thing in the final third because he is a South American master. After all, he finished the previous campaign with 10 Premier League goals and 2 assists. He wasn’t necessarily a regular goal threat for the Seagulls, and six of those goals came from penalties.
When his work is discussed, that frequently slips under the radar. Actually, a lot of what he accomplished for Brighton seems to have been forgotten. For instance, he started more often as part of a deep double pivot during the previous season than he did as an attacking midfielder, where he made up half of his appearances. His function wasn’t all that dissimilar from the one he’s performing for the Reds this year. When Liverpool is in possession, he frequently finds himself in a double pivot because the right back inverts, despite starting in a midfield three. There is more of a defensive burden placed on his shoulders, but if everyone else does their job, Mac Allister should only need to cover smaller areas. Recently, Klopp made reference to this when he said, “If we as a team defend well, he [Mac Allister] can definitely play the six.
I had a suspicion that I knew that, but I wasn’t sure because I didn’t know how the other boys would defend themselves specifically. We have small spaces because we defend more compactly and effectively than we did in last year’s poor phases, and it is great because he sees the situations so well and we have a really good footballer. “. In addition to winning a higher percentage of tackles against dribblers, he is making a few more tackles per 90 minutes on average this season. He is more active, but also more productive.
The Liverpool number 10 is demonstrating his value there by making five tackles and five interceptions on average every 90 minutes. In order to put things into perspective, peak Fabinho averaged 4 points and 16 tackles and interceptions per game during the title-winning season of 2019–20. Pep Lijnders gave him the moniker “The Lighthouse” because he frequently provided the Reds with a strong foundation upon which to build their attacks. Is that what Mac Allister is doing?
