Ian Doyle’s observation that Alexis Mac Allister looked ‘tired’ during the first half of Liverpool’s Premier League clash against Crystal Palace this afternoon seemed prophetic.
The Argentine has started nine of our 10 matches this season and played the full 90 minutes in seven of those (Transfermarkt), but his involvement at Selhurst Park ended at half-time as he made way for Dominik Szoboszlai.
During the interval, the journalist noted on the Liverpool Echo’s live matchday blog (13:27): “Szoboszlai is being put through his paces at the moment. That’s usually a sign he’ll be coming on in the second half. It could well be Mac Allister who comes off. He looks tired and is on a booking.”
Prior to today, the 25-year-old has played the second-most minutes of any Liverpool player so far this season (Transfermarkt), so it’s understandable that fatigue may have set in after his seventh match in just 22 days.
Mac Allister was surprisingly subdued in midfield, losing four of his six duels, being dribbled past three times, failing to record a shot or a defensive action and giving away the ball four times, although he did record one key pass (Sofascore).
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As Doyle rightly says, the fact that the ex-Brighton star was on a yellow card might also have played into Slot’s thinking to withdraw him at half-time and throw Szoboszlai into the fray.
Our number 10 wasn’t at his brilliant best against Palace before his substitution, and Liverpool fans mightn’t be overly enamoured to see him jetting to South America over the coming days for two World Cup qualifiers with Argentina.
Hopefully he’ll come back refreshed for an intense run of games after the international break, as a fully-fit Mac Allister could be crucial for the Reds throughout the campaign.
