Steven Gerrard has offered a theory as to why Alexis Mac Allister has looked so resurgent this season compared to last.
The midfielder was one of the Reds’ most disappinting players of a dreadful 2025/26 campaign, especially having been such a key component in the preceding Premier League title triumph, but he’s been playing near to his best since Andoni Iraola took charge in the summer.
Speaking on The Overlap Daily (via Liverpool Echo), our former captain claimed that the 27-year-old subconsciously let his performance levels drop last season as he was privately consumed by trying to retain the World Cup with Argentina.
Gerrard explains Mac Allister revival theory
Gerrard said of Mac Allister: “I’ve loved him this season. I think last year, like a lot of the Argentinian players, they had a bit of a distraction with the World Cup coming up.
“It’s the way they are. The World Cup takes over everything in their lives, and I lived that with Emiliano Martínez when I was at Aston Villa. I just think it becomes a priority.
“I think it becomes a bit of a distraction. It becomes the most important thing in their lives, to be ready and not injured and make sure that the national team is the priority.
“I think with a lot of the Argentina players, I’m sure a lot of managers, if they watch this, will say: ‘Yeah, I’ve experienced that.’”
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Is that really what Mac Allister was doing?
It’s an interesting theory that Gerrard has put forward to explain why Mac Allister’s performances from last season to this have been so chalk and cheese.
Many footballers consider the World Cup as the pinnacle of their careers, and the Liverpool midfielder represents a nation where the sport is nothing short of an obsession.
Only the 27-year-old could truthfully answer whether or not he let his levels dip in 2025/26 because he was prioritising the global tournament in North America, but from a Reds perspective we’d hope that isn’t the case.
As a player employed by LFC, Mac Allister has a duty to give full commitment to representing the club. As disappointing as his performances were last season, though, we wouldn’t go as far as accusing him of not giving less than 100%, which’d be a serious indictment of an elite footballer.
Thankfully, the Argentine has looked much more like his usual self since August, to the point where Troy Deeney suggested that he would even inspire Liverpool to nudge their way into the Premier League title race if he maintains or improves further upon his current standards.
The 27-year-old has been vocal about his contract situation at Anfield, but if he keeps playing the way that he has been, securing a new deal for him should become a matter of priority for sporting director Richard Hughes.