There will have been a lot of Liverpool fans licking their lips when they saw the team confirmed to take on Sheffield United.
With Wataru Endō rewarded for his goalscoring cameo against Fulham, Alexis Mac Allister was given the rare opportunity to stretch his legs in a more advanced midfield role. It’s a move a lot of people have been crying out for this season. It is, after all, the role that drew Liverpool’s attention to Mac Allister in the first place at Brighton. During pre-season, he was one of the standout stars in that very same position, before a lack of options at number six saw him fill the space for Jürgen Klopp.
The Argentine has performed admirably if not spectacularly in the role ever since, but with Endō showing signs of getting more up to speed in English football, the opportunity for Mac Allister to venture forward finally arrived. Surely now he would show the quality that led to his signing.
Things didn’t really work out that way though. An early stamp on the knee didn’t help matters, but it was an underwhelming display from the Argentine overall. Just 13 touches in the first half compared to Endō’s 42 and Dominik Szoboszlai’s 40 (via Bence Bocsak) rather summed up his display. To compound matters, he was forced off early on in the second half with an injury that will no doubt concern Klopp.
The Liverpool boss was seen smiling with the midfielder at full-time, so hopefully the problem is not too bad. What will slightly concern the German though is that this isn’t the first time Mac Allister hasn’t taken his chance in his supposedly favored position.
The World Cup winner was also given the opportunity against Toulouse in the Europa League, and flattered to deceive on that occasion as well as Liverpool fell to a shock defeat. At this stage, perhaps the number six role should be seen as his better position. But even that might not necessarily be a given now. Although Endō wasn’t perhaps outstanding against Sheffield United, he certainly didn’t disappoint either, and he showed good control in not getting himself in further trouble after a first-half booking.
If Mac Allister is in need of a rest after picking up that knock, then Endō might well get another opportunity at Crystal Palace on Saturday. Having failed to impress further up the field, Mac Allister could now be left worrying about his other role in the side.
