{"id":1500026,"date":"2026-10-06T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?post_type=features&p=1500026"},"modified":"2026-10-06T14:22:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T13:22:35","slug":"alexis-mac-allister-analysis-liverpool-midfield-balance","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/alexis-mac-allister-analysis-liverpool-midfield-balance\/","title":{"rendered":"Alexis Mac Allister: Liverpool’s odd man out now their most-important player"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alexis Mac Allister<\/a> was the odd man out at the start of the season for Liverpool<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Argentine found himself in limbo ahead of the new campaign kicking off. Ryan Gravenberch<\/a> and Dominik Szoboszlai<\/a> signed new, improved deals at Anfield while Curtis Jones<\/a> was set to join Inter Milan<\/a>. It meant that, of the title winning-midfield from 2024\/25, Mac Allister was the only one not to have his long-term future sorted out.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With new manager Andoni Iraola<\/a> favouring a double pivot in midfield that was dependent on high energy, and the fact Mac Allister returned late from World Cup duty, the expectation was that he would be a rotation option this term alongside highly rated youngster Trey Nyoni, filling in for Szoboszlai and Gravenberch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The view would then be for Mac Allister to be sold next summer, amid Liverpool links for Lamine Camara<\/a>. Mac Allister himself fanned those flames recently when revealing that he hadn’t been offered a new deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For all intents and purposes, Liverpool had made their decision. The future of their midfield was Gravenberch and Szoboszlai. So why, as we head into October, is Mac Allister the team\u2019s most important midfielder?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Return of the Mac<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There were question marks and concerns over Mac Allister last season. He struggled with fitness and form. He wasn\u2019t the only Liverpool player, granted, but his drop-off was quite stark. It wasn\u2019t even the form element of it, it was the fitness aspect of it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At no point of the campaign did the 27-year-old look close to being fit. And even though Arne Slot<\/a> tried to play Mac Allister into form, it just never happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some queried whether the last couple of years, playing the amount of football he had done, had taken it out of him. What didn\u2019t help was the variety of positions he was given under the Dutchman last term in a struggling team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Despite playing for Argentina<\/a> at the World Cup, Mac Allister looks refreshed and reinvigorated. Iraola trusts him to carry out the double pivot role and he\u2019s enjoying life there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mac Allister is more involved than he previously was and he\u2019s making smarter decisions in possession. He\u2019s keeping things ticking over – finding a teammate with 88% of his attempted passes. And he, once again, has the knack for being in the right place at the right time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s keeping things simple but it\u2019s exactly what Liverpool need from their Argentinian maestro as they look to give others a platform to thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Balancing the midfield<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When Iraola made the decision to give Mac Allister a rest against Fulham<\/a> in mid-September, it exposed the midfield.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Spaniard paired Gravenberch and Szoboszlai in midfield and the duo won just five of their 17 attempted duels. The team looked open without the ball and blunt with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And it\u2019s easy to see why this might be the case. Mac Allister has scaled pretty much all of his on-ball numbers this season while reducing his offensive output. Iraola is playing to the Argentine’s strengths and this just so happens to help balance everything else in the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mac Allister is winning his duels, he\u2019s winning his tackles, he\u2019s retaining the ball and he\u2019s progressing play. He\u2019s also dominating and creating space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His performances are putting the likes of Szoboszlai and Gravenberch to shame. His showings are making Richard Hughes\u2019 decision to reward those two while overlooking Mac Allister look like yet another misstep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Adapting to Iraola-ball<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When Slot arrived on Merseyside, he made it clear he didn\u2019t fancy Mac Allister in a deeper role. He used Ryan Gravenberch as the anchor and moved the Argentine higher up the pitch. He also had him filling in for Florian Wirtz<\/a> as an attacking midfielder at times last term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Iraola, however, sees Mac Allister as someone who can operate in the deeper phases of play. Against Tottenham Hotspur<\/a> in the Carabao Cup, he even used youngster James McConnell<\/a> as an attacking midfielder and paired Mac Allister with Nyoni. It would\u2019ve been easy for Iraola to use Mac Allister as an offensive threat in a young team. But he values what the Argentine can do with and without the ball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s impressed in possession this term but the biggest impact he\u2019s had on this team has been without the ball. He\u2019s joint top for tackles in a team that is now keeping clean sheets. This doesn\u2019t feel like a play for a new contract. It feels like the new manager is making the most of his skills.<\/p>\n\n\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n