Ex-Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino has claimed that Alexis Mac Allister should not operate as a defensive midfielder following Liverpool’s 3-1 Premier League loss to Arsenal on Sunday (February 4).
Earlier this weekend, Arsenal handed the league leaders their second defeat of the ongoing season. Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Leandro Trossard all scored a goal apiece for the Gunners, while Gabriel Magalhaes netted an unfortunate own goal in the first half.
Mac Allister, who joined Liverpool from Brighton & Hove Albion for £35 million past summer, started the match in a defensive midfield role. The 25-year-old completed 54 of 60 passes, created two chances, and won two of three tackles and also 11 of 15 duels this Sunday.
Now, Cascarino has slammed the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner for failing to assert his dominance in his team’s match at Arsenal. He told The Game Football Podcast (h/t The Boot Room):
“I don’t see him as a number six. I watched him in his early days at Brighton, he was way further forward, and way more effective. I don’t see him as a six, he gets caught way too much on the ball. Jorginho’s performance told you all you need to know about a holding midfielder, simple, move the ball, he doesn’t do that very well.”
With Wataru Endo out representing Japan at the AFC Asian Cup 2024, Mac Allister is the Reds’ sole choice in the holding role. Despite naturally being a number eight, he has come up with a host of great outings for Liverpool of late, especially in their 4-1 win over Chelsea.
So far this season, the former Boca Juniors man has scored one goal and laid out two assistd in 25 overall outings for Jurgen Klopp‘s outfit.
Jurgen Klopp opines on Liverpool’s plans of bouncing back after recent 3-1 Arsenal loss
After Liverpool’s 3-1 Premier League loss at Arsenal, Reds manager Jurgen Klopp was asked to comment on his team’s chances of starting another unbeaten streak. He replied (h/t Liverpoolfc.com):
“That’s actually the idea but we didn’t want to stop the run here. We didn’t lose recently an awful lot of games, we know that. That means dealing with defeats is a challenge – for humankind actually. We have now a rather longer week… we play on Saturday, so we will use that for rest, we will use that for training and will be properly prepared for the next game.”
The Reds, who were unbeaten in 15 league outings prior to their defeat at Arsenal, will next face Burnley at Anfield on Saturday (February 10).
So far, Klopp’s outfit have recorded 15 wins, six draws and two losses in 23 league games this campaign. They are atop the 2023-24 standings with 51 points from 23 outings, two points ahead of Manchester City.
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