10 November 2023 , 14:50
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Alexis Mac Allister has not yet looked his best self at Liverpool and a string of less than stellar displays have not gone unnoticed by one former Red.
The Argentina international and World Cup winner has managed just two assists and zero goals in 15 appearances across all competitions so far this term. However, that can be at least partly explained by the fact he is being deployed in a deeper role by Jurgen Klopp than the one he enjoyed at Brighton.
Despite this, some fans and pundits alike remain unconvinced, one of whom is ex-Liverpool striker Dean Saunders. The former Wales international has issued a fairly damning assessment of Mac Allister's start to life at Anfield following his £35million switch from the Seagulls.
"I’m not convinced. For a start, he’s got no pace," Saunders told talkSPORT. “When we’ve seen him trying to get back the other day, you can see he’s got no pace.
"He’s a neat and tidy footballer, but saying that, when he’s keeping the ball, sometimes he gives it away and you think, that’s his game.
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"He can’t give the ball away. Szoboszlai looks a player but are they going to be better than the ones they’ve had? They had genuine, unselfish midfield players like Fabinho, Henderson, Milner, Wijnaldum who cover the ground, I’m not sure."
Saunders' comments came before Liverpool's Europa League defeat against Toulouse on Thursday night. The Reds were on the wrong end of a 3-2 scoreline and were dealt their first loss in the competition this term.
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Alexis Mac Allister has come in for criticism from Dean Saunders (Getty Images)Klopp's men thought they had salvaged a point late on when Jarell Quansah fired home from close range, but it was an infringement from Mac Allister that saw the goal chalked off in the last knockings. The midfielder was deemed to have handled the ball in the build-up and VAR intervened to rule out the strike.
The Reds boss made his feelings on the matter crystal clear come full-time, claiming: "I only saw the video back now and for me it's not a handball - but how can I decide that?
"Yes, the ball goes to the chest and I don't see contact with the arm, to be honest. Maybe they had a different picture than I had. It's pretty long ago before we score the goal, [I was thinking] 'where's the free-kick?'
"That's interesting, we could talk about that. I heard, I didn't see it, that there could have been a penalty for us in another situation, I don't know."