Liverpool are on a high this morning having seen off the considerable challenge of Sheffield United last night.
The Reds had perhaps been expected to comfortably swat aside a team who were lying rock bottom of the Premier League table. But football rarely works like that, and Liverpool had to fight for every inch.
In the end though, the manner of the late victory can possibly kick the Reds on more than a comfortable win would have. As they head to Old Trafford on Sunday, Manchester United’s late loss against Chelsea could give them even more confidence going into that game.
Another reason to be confident is the form of Alexis Mac Allister. The Argentine has been sublime lately and capped yesterday’s game with his best moment for the club yet.
Mac Allister’s emergence as a key player for Liverpool has earned him plenty of praise, and rightfully so. The latest to weigh in has been former Reds defender Kolo Toure, who gave an interesting analysis of the 25-year-old’s role in the team.
Kolo Toure praises Alexis Mac Allister
Since retiring from playing, Toure has moved into coaching. Although he wasn’t successful in a brief stint as Wigan Athletic manager recently, he does have plenty of experience on Brendan Rodgers’ backroom team at Celtic and Leicester. Jurgen Klopp even asked Kolo to join his team back in 2016.
As a result, it was fascinating to hear his analysis for LFCTV following yesterday’s win over Sheffield United.
Asked to comment on Mac Allister’s blockbuster goal, Toure shared some praise for how he sees the Argentine’s wider role in the team.
“For me he’s the guy who can control the rhythm of the game,” said the 43-year-old. “You can see when he wants to accelerate the game he can do it, when he wants to slow down the game he can do it as well. When the ball ended up on him, you knew what was going to happen, he’s fantastic, he’s got an unbelievable strike. I think he’s a really, really important player for the team.
“One thing I want to say is that when you play against a back five and they defend in front of the box it’s very, very hard to score,” Toure continued.
“We saw that the strikers never had clear occasions to score, that can only come from the midfield. That’s what happened there, Mac Allister’s shot was perfect and that’s what you need. Sometimes the strikers are blocked, they can’t do much, and they need the midfield to make those shots to score goals.”
How does Mac Allister compare to other Liverpool midfielders
His strike last night was Mac Allister’s sixth of the season. In the current Liverpool set-up, that makes him the second highest scoring midfielder. Dominik Szoboszlai has seven.
When you compare that against the Reds’ previous midfield’s under Klopp, it’s night and day.
Last season, for example, the quintet of midfielders who left the club – James Milner, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and Fabinho – scored just one goal between them. The season before they got 18 – with Fabinho weighing in with eight alone.
With Mac Allister and Szoboszlai already on 13 – and Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch chipping in too – Liverpool’s forwards can now rely on their midfield for goals. What a feeling that is.