Jurgen Klopp has hailed the “exceptional” impact of Alexis Mac Allister after Liverpool consolidated their place at the top of the Premier League table with a 4-0 win at Bournemouth.
The Reds were ruthless in the second half at the Vitality Stadium, with braces from Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota enough to take the game away from the Cherries after a tricky first 45 minutes on the south coast.
Mac Allister was an integral part of his side’s resurgence in the second period, operating in the deep-lying midfield position he has made his own so far this season.
Speaking after the game, the Liverpool boss praised his No. 10 and was particularly pleased to be questioned about his performance in particular.
“Thank you for mentioning that, sometimes people forget that because in the second half we scored the goals,” said Klopp when asked about the World Cup winner’s performance in his post-match press conference.
“Absolutely exceptional performance, I have to say. I’m so happy for us obviously but for him as well.
“He’s a really good footballer, let me say it like that. And he did defensively the job and offensively he is super important anyway for us.
“He was calm on the ball, all the good things in the first half already happened with him.”
There was further praise for the Argentine in the manager’s interview with Sky Sports after the contest, where he discussed Mac Allister’s role in the side and described him as an “incredibly smart player.”
“I know this boy since the summer – I knew him before, we wanted to have him,” Klopp continued.
No Liverpool player has made more tackles in a Premier League game in the last eight seasons than Alexis Mac Allister against Bournemouth (9).
He also won possession 15 times and won 14 duels. ? pic.twitter.com/YgDVORq4Lv
— Squawka (@Squawka) January 21, 2024
“He didn’t play the single six at Brighton, but he’s an incredibly smart player. And as long as you can create a compact formation, Macca is an outstanding six.
“You can all tell me what you want – he’s an outstanding six. On the ball, better than all sixes you can imagine, and [off] the ball, he’s just really strong.
“If the pitch is too big, the half-spaces are too open, yeah, I don’t know a lot of sixes who are then great – but there might be a few who come off [better] on the defensive side of it.”
The showing didn’t go unnoticed by Liverpool fans, either, with plenty racing to social media to praise Mac Allister’s outstanding performance in the 4-0 win.
Alexis Mac Allister was everywhere. pic.twitter.com/xLFZOlZWyX
— LFCDZN11 (@lfcdzn11) January 21, 2024
Alexis Mac Allister ?? today
92 touches
87% pass accuracy
5/9 accurate long balls
14 ball recoveries (!)
10/15 ground duels won (!)
2/2 aerial duels won
3 interceptions
3 tackles wonBrighton, sorry the fee was so low ?? pic.twitter.com/k4mEzXe7hq
— Moby (@Mobyhaque1) January 21, 2024
Mac Allister’s best performance in a Liverpool shirt. Superb today ?? pic.twitter.com/dlpjMNdJdA
— ? (@_Szoboszlai) January 21, 2024
Where’s all the people saying MacAllister isn’t good enough gone?
— Mike W (@MW92_) January 22, 2024
Alexis Mac Allister Appreciation Post.
Our Argentine Maestro. Dictated the game. ?? pic.twitter.com/c4Dxp1RDQe
— Samuel (@SamueILFC) January 21, 2024
?? Alexis Mac Allister with a sublime performance today.
He made most recoveries any #LFC player has made in a single game this season (14).
Also created the most chances (4) and won the joint most duels (12) on the pitch.
Simply sensational. @BenBocsak for… pic.twitter.com/nI6seNa7eC
— AnfieldIndex (@AnfieldIndex) January 21, 2024
All-action display from Alexis Mac Allister…
95 touches
70 passes
13 tackles
0 fouls
3 interceptionsExceptional performance. https://t.co/TV8GTl3nmc pic.twitter.com/LaPQBJq4js
— Lewis Steele (@LewisSteele_) January 21, 2024
Thought Alexis Mac Allister was boss this afternoon. Boss as in he was boss, boss as in he absolutely bossed the midfield.
Just boss! pic.twitter.com/O6DdnKKibp
— Rohan Kallicharan (@ro_jito) January 21, 2024
Said it before and I’ll say it again, Alexis MacAllister is a game changer signing for the reds, what a player we have on our hands #LFC pic.twitter.com/FMOM0NOpvH
— BenB (@BenBLFC) January 22, 2024
There were understandable concerns among supporters when Wataru Endo departed for the Asian Cup, with the Japan captain currently the Reds’ only specialist defensive midfielder.
While many still believe No. 6 isn’t Mac Allister’s best position, he proved himself to be a great option at the base of the midfield against Bournemouth and alleviated some of the worries caused by Endo’s departure.
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