06 March 2024 , 20:22
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Alexis Mac Allister believes his bromance with Darwin Nunez helps the both of them - but insists his South American counterpart is shining because of his work ethic.
The duo could be in action together as Liverpool take on Sparta Prague in the last-16 of the Europa League. Argentina ace Mac Allister was the provider for Nunez on Saturday as the Uruguayan grabbed a late, late winner to secure three huge points against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League title race.
Nunez, who was just back from injury, has now scored 14 goals this season as the former Benfica forward continues to improve this season. Mac Allister and Nunez have struck up a strong friendship since the former arrived from Brighton in the summer both on and off the pitch.
The World Cup winner said: “My relationship with Darwin is very good, of course. Since the first time we met, you could see the connection between us off the pitch.
“On the pitch we try to be connected, when I play as an ‘8’ of course that connection has to be important. He’s an amazing guy, he’s doing very well and he works very hard. Sometimes I hear people say that I help him a lot but that is not true.
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“His level is because he trains very well, and he works very hard. That’s why he’s scoring goals and that’s why he’s important for this team.” Liverpool face an in-form Sparta side who have lost just one of their last 18 games in all competitions.
That came in the first leg of the last round of this competition when they went down 3-2 away at Galatasaray but they turned the tie around with a 4-1 thrashing of the Turkish side in the second leg. Klopp will rest some key players with Sunday’s huge Premier League clash with Manchester City in mind and it may also see some stars playing 45 minutes before being taken off.
Nunez and Mac Allister combined for Liverpool's winner against Nottingham Forest on Saturday (Manjit Narotra/ProSports/REX/Shutterstock)The Reds have a chance to go four points clear of champions City if they beat them at the weekend. But they can’t afford to take their eye off the ball if they want to progress in this competition and keep alive hopes of a quadruple.
Mac Allister said: “We expect a very tough game, we know they are unbeaten at home, top of the league and that tells you they are a very good team. We saw some videos and know what they do but we need to focus on ourselves, if we focus on ourselves we have the chance to win this game.
“They are a very good team and it will be a great battle.”
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