Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Liverpool, Steven Gerrard, Alexis Mac Allister, Football
Marcus Chan
Topics: Liverpool, Steven Gerrard, Alexis Mac Allister, Football
Alexis Mac Allister managed to match a long-standing Steven Gerrard record after his stunning strike against Sheffield United.
After both Arsenal and Manchester City won their matches on Wednesday night, Liverpool knew only a victory against Sheffield at Anfield would take them back to the top of the Premier League.
Darwin Nunez’s press earned Liverpool the lead after 17 minutes but Anfield was stunned into utter silence with 58 minutes on the clock after an own goal by Conor Bradley.
As the clock ticked towards the 80th minute, Mac Allister came up with the goods as he unleashed an unstoppable effort on the edge of the penalty area.
Cody Gakpo then sealed all three points as he made it 3-1 in the 90th minute.
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By scoring against Sheffield, Mac Allister became the first Liverpool midfielder since Gerrard in 2013 to either score or assist in six matches in a row.
The Argentine only joined the club from Brighton and Hove Albion last summer but he is fast becoming a fan favourite.
Mac Allister has had to play in an unfamiliar defensive midfielder role as Jurgen Klopp slowly bedded Wataru Endo into his side.
Now playing in his preferred number eight role, Liverpool fans are starting to see Mac Allister at his best.
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Speaking after the match, Reds boss Klopp was full of praise for Mac Allister.
He said: “I would rather you all use your eyes and say what you see but it’s obvious that he’s a super important player for us.
“I met his father after the game. He said ‘Thank you’ and I said ‘Gracias’. He’s a wonderful player, a wonderful boy and I’m really happy for Liverpool that we got him.”
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Klopp added: “We controlled the game but there are different ways to do it. The way we did it was not the right one.
“You don’t even have counter-attacks, What you have to do is accelerate, speed up, underlap, overlap, Robbo (Robertson) going down the line constantly after coming on was helpful. The game was a difficult one to get rhythm. We needed Macca’s wonder goal to turn it around.”
It is not going to get any easier for Klopp and Liverpool as they travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.