Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister struggled to keep his eyes open in a pre-match meeting ahead of their top-of-the-table clash against Manchester City – and it's easy to understand why.
This week has been a real slog for the 24-year-old midfielder, who played 85 minutes on Saturday afternoon before being replaced by Wataru Endo.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Mac Allister played the full 90 for Argentina as they recorded a 1-0 win over Brazil in their World Cup qualifier at the Maracana.
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He would then make the 5,000-mile trip from Brazil to Liverpool, which would typically take around 10 hours.
And just a day later, he was back in training as Jurgen Klopp's side prepared for their much-anticipated match against then-league leaders Manchester City.
It was certainly a quick turnaround and, unsurprisingly, Mac Allister was left exhausted by the events. In fact, the Argentine could barely keep his eyes open in a pre-match meeting on Friday as Jurgen Klopp discussed tactics.
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Speaking to LFCTV after the full-time whistle on Saturday, he said: “Honestly, it’s so hard to play like this. Yesterday we were in a meeting talking about Man City and the way we wanted to play, and I couldn’t keep my eyes open!
"It’s very tough, jet-lag, long trip. But it is what it is, we like playing football this is what we want, we want to win and that’s why we did our best today.”
To his credit, Mac Allister powered through as Trent Alexander-Arnold cancelled out Erling Haaland's first-half opener to secure a hard-fought point at the Etihad.
Ahead of Saturday's clash, Jurgen Klopp criticised the decision to switch Liverpool’s visit to Manchester City to a 12.30pm kick-off following the international break.
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After his team's win over Brentford, the German said: “Today was about getting through the game and we did.
“The boys responded sensationally well. Now they are all gone and we can train once before Manchester City. How can you put a game like this on Saturday at 12.30pm? Honestly, the people making these decisions, they cannot feel football, it is just not possible. And it is the moment where the world pays the most to see a football game.
“These two teams could have, all together, about 30 international players. They all come back on the same plane by the way, all the South American players. They all fly back together, we put them on the plane from Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.
"One game, one plane, they all come back. We just have to make sure we are ready for this game.”
Do you agree with Klopp regarding the early kick-off time? Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: Getty ImagesTopics: Alexis Mac Allister, Liverpool, Premier League, Manchester City