Gary Gillespie was full of praise for Alexis Mac Allister’s performance for Liverpool in their 3-1 win over Darmstadt on Monday night.
The Argentine played 75 minutes for the Reds in their final pre-season friendly, and his display has raised further excitement over what he can contribute in his first campaign at Anfield.
Gillespie was on co-commentary duty for LFCTV tonight and, upon seeing the 24-year-old on screen, he couldn’t but issue a well-deserved compliment, saying: “That man there has been at the very heart of things.
“It’ll be interesting to see how it develops throughout the course of the season. We haven’t really seen Trent [Alexander-Arnold] move into that midfield position all that much in the first 45 minutes, mainly because Mac Allister had so much possession himself.”
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As Liverpool’s search for a defensive midfield signing continues, Mac Allister was entrusted with playing as a makeshift number 6 against Darmstadt, and he was indeed in the thick of it throughout his time on the pitch.
He was tremendous during the first half in particular, setting up opportunities for Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz while also firing a shot of his own narrowly wide as he came to the fore for the Reds.
As per Sofascore, he ended the night with 62 completed passes (second-most of any LFC player) out of 74, succeeding with 84%, while he also won three duels and one tackle, had one successful dribble, made one key pass.
Mac Allister has been quite impressive throughout pre-season, and we’re buzzing to see what he can do in a Liverpool shirt once the competitive action gets underway next weekend!
#Ep83 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones