Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has hailed Alexis Mac Allister after Sunday’s 4-0 victory away at Bournemouth.
The Reds travelled to the South Coast in search of another three points in their push for the Premier League title.
Liverpool were flat in the first half and went into the break at 0-0, attempting to figure out a way to break the Cherries down.
Darwin Nunez’s opener opened the floodgates with Diogo Jota finding the net twice.
Nunez added number four, giving Liverpool a thumping victory when it looked like being something of a struggle.
Jurgen Klopp hails Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister
Jota and Nunez will grab the headlines having both come so close to firing hat-tricks on the South Coast.
One player arguably outshone them both though as midfielder Alexis Mac Allister enjoyed another strong performance.
Liverpool paid £35million to sign Mac Allister over the summer having watched him shine with Brighton and Hove Albion.
We know Mac Allister as a creative and attack-minded midfielder, but he has actually played in more of a holding role for large parts of this season.
Wataru Endo had emerged as Liverpool’s midfield anchor man but he is now with Japan at the Asian Cup.
That means Mac Allister is back in front of the Liverpool defence and he was sensational against Bournemouth on Sunday.
Four key passes, three tackles won, three interceptions, two aerial duels won, one clearance, one accurate cross; Mac Allister was everywhere and offered so much both going forward and defensively.
Jurgen Klopp has now offered his praise for Mac Allister, telling Liverpool’s official website that he felt the Argentinian was ‘absolutely exceptional’ at the Vitality Stadium.
Klopp highlighted Mac Allister’s composure on the ball as well as his defensive impact, noting that he is a ‘really good footballer’ and that his performance could have gone under the radar due to Liverpool’s second-half goal glut.
“Thank you for mentioning that,” said Klopp. “Sometimes people forget that because in the second half we scored the goals. Absolutely exceptional performance, I have to say. I’m so happy for us, obviously, but for him as well, he’s a really good footballer, let me say it like that.”
“Defensively did a good job and offensively he is anyway a super-important player for us, he was calm on the ball, all the good things in the first half already happened with him. Yeah, really happy,” he added.
Mac Allister will have to keep playing in that holding role for a while yet with Endo still away with Japan and not even out of the group stage yet.
The Argentinian is showing his versatility at Liverpool and his defensive showings made that £35million price tag look even better now.
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