The Liverpool midfield transformation was never going to happen overnight. And Wednesday’s demolition of Chelsea was the perfect showcase for how matters have changed for the Reds engine room – and one player in particular – since the opening Premier League weekend.
Back in August at Stamford Bridge, Mac Allister was thrust into the role of number six with Liverpool having seen Jordan Henderson and Fabinho follow James Milner out the exit during the summer and then watched Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia instead opt to join their opponents.
While the Reds eked out a 1-1 draw, Mac Allister struggled to impose himself. Worse was to come the following week when the Argentine was controversially dismissed on his home debut against Bournemouth, a red card that was later rescinded. And his first post-international break outing at Wolves in September saw him hooked at half-time. If Jurgen Klopp kept the faith, supporters were growing concerned.
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It was supposed to be a temporary measure for the £35million signing from Brighton. But with Wataru Endo, Liverpool’s eventual defensive midfield signing, taking time to adapt and teenager Stefan Bajcetic sidelined, Klopp had few options other than to continue with Mac Allister as the defensive shield. And, slowly but surely, he began to deliver, culminating in a goal-of-the-season contender in the thrilling 4-3 win over Fulham.
Endo now up to speed, Mac Allister was restored to a more advanced role three days later at Sheffield United – only to suffer a knee problem that kept him out for a month and allowed the Japanese to stake his claims with a succession of impressive performances.
However, as Endo then jetted off for the Asia Cup at the start of the year, so Mac Allister returned to fitness. And after a superb outing in the 4-0 Premier League at Bournemouth, the World Cup winner posted his best performance of the season in the midweek 4-1 thumping of Chelsea. No player had more touches, made more accurate passes, won more duels or made more tackles in outstanding all-round individual display.
Mac Allister has shrugged off an injury scare at the end of the game when clashing with Chelsea substitute Cesare Casadei – “It was knee to knee, basically both knees, but it’s good,” he says – and is expected to continue as the number six for the Premier League trip to Arsenal this afternoon.
All told, 17 of his 20 Liverpool have been as the defensive midfielder. Not that Mac Allister expected to be a regular in the role when he signed up for Reds duty last June. “No, not really,” he says. “It was clearly not the idea. But things changed. At the beginning of the season, we didn’t have a proper number six so I had to do the job. Jurgen likes it! So I try to do my best and it’s all about helping the team.
“I like the way I am playing. I like that I’m helping my team-mates, and if they need any protection. In the position I am playing now, it’s more about the defensive things. But at the same time I’m able to get on the ball a lot, and I really like it. I know that at the beginning the fans were talking a lot about my position in the team, but I always said it was a position I really like and I think I can do it very well.”
While Mac Allister had previously played in a double pivot for both club and country, he forged his reputation as a more progressive midfielder. And of his current role, he says: “It’s quite different, because as a normal number eight you need to be able to carry the ball more and use it more further forward, stuff like that. Playing deeper, it’s maybe a little bit easier in some respects because you get more space and more time when you’re on the ball. But it’s about understanding the game, and all my team-mates help me a lot. They make it easier for me.”
Liverpool can temporarily go eight points clear – second-placed Manchester City. who already have one game in hand, are at Brentford on Monday night – with a second victory inside a month at the Emirates, having eliminated Arsenal from the FA Cup with a 2-0 third-round triumph in early January. The Reds have now lost just one of their last 40 games against domestic opponents in all competitions.
“It’s clear that we have improved a lot now as a team since the beginning of the season,” says Mac Allister. “We are really working hard. You can see that every player who comes into the team knows exactly what they have to do, and it’s very important for us to keep the level and then improve the team from there. We are really pleased with our performances so far but we know that we’ve only just gone past the halfway mark in the season. We need to keep going.
“Confidence is very high at the moment. When you beat a team like Chelsea 4-1, it’s going to be high. But we expect a very hard game at Arsenal, as it was in the FA Cup. It was a very tough game, they have very good players, they know what they want to do and have a clear idea of what they need to do.
“Will they want a reaction from that defeat? Maybe. But, as I said, they are a very good team anyway. They don’t have to show any sort of reaction to what happened.”
The manner of Liverpool’s thumping of Chelsea, though, was a serious statement of intent for the remainder of the season that Mac Allister believes champions Manchester City and their other title rivals will have noticed.
“They are aware that we are going to fight for everything this year,” he says. “But we don’t focus on that – we just need to focus on ourselves. We know the potential of this team. We are showing it, and we just need to keep going. If we keep playing like we are and did against Chelsea, then we can achieve something this season.”
And if Mac Allister continues the form he showed against the Londoners, he will be a pivotal figure in any success.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
