Alexis Mac Allister takes step backwards to show just how special he really is for Liverpool
After so much progress in recent weeks, this was an evening for Alexis Mac Allister to ostensibly take a step backwards.
But if ever there was an occasion to underline why the Argentine midfielder is proving key in dragging Liverpool forward in the Premier League title race, this was it.
With Wataru Endo unavailable, Mac Allister was compelled to return to the defensive midfield role with which he gradually got to grips during the first half of the season.
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Having notched nine goals contributions in his previous nine outings from a more accustomed advanced role, Mac Allister's move meant there was always a danger Jurgen Klopp was cutting off arguably Liverpool’s biggest supply chain of chances at present.
And, in truth, there were shades of that as the Reds, despite being ahead through Darwin Nunez’s freak first-half opener, struggled to wholly convince against a rock-bottom Sheffield United side whose sole aim was to drop deep, dig in and hope for the best.
That appeared to have paid off when, on a rare visiting sortie, Conor Bradley unwittingly directed Gustavo Hamer’s header between the legs of the unfortunate Caoimhin Kelleher. A shock setback was becoming a reality.
Lately, though, Mac Allister has acquired a welcome tendency of stepping up when Liverpool need him the most. So when, with 14 minutes remaining, the ball bounced invitingly to the midfielder on the edge of the area, there should have been no doubt over what was to happen next, the brutal ferocity of his shot in danger of tearing through the net and into the jubilant Kop. It was some strike.
There was almost an equally
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