Peter Schmeichel noted how ‘unhappy’ Alexis Mac Allister looked after he was subbed off at half-time by Jurgen Klopp during Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Wolves.
Given that Alexis Mac Allister was in South America for Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers, he returned back to Liverpool later than most.
Despite that, Jurgen Klopp still opted to start his summer signing, but with the Reds being 1-0 down and producing an abject 45-minute display at Wolves, changes were made at the break, including Mac Allister coming off, with Schmeichel joking that he was told by Klopp to ‘sit on the naughty step’, as he told Premier League Productions (16/09/23 at 8:40 pm).
You have to cut the World Cup-winning star some slack because of how many more miles he had to travel than some of his teammates.
Plus, he is then being asked to play as one of the engines of a team, so it’s understandable if he was a little off it against Wolves.
Either way, it was a call that paid off because Liverpool were far better in the second half and deserved to secure the three points.
Klopp subs off Mac Allister at half-time
“You also saw from that clip, how direct and how much more energy that Liverpool came out with in the second half,” said Schmeichel.
“He (Klopp) must have had a big, big half-time talk. He was so unhappy in the first half. But they came out in the second and delivered.
“I don’t know what he told Mac Allister. ‘Go and sit on the naughty step?’ He was the first one out, so when Diaz was actually being prepared to come on. He was behind. You could see how unhappy he was. But it’s great managerial work. Every substitution he made worked.”
Europa League football for Liverpool
Given that Liverpool have been used to Champions League football during the Klopp era, then this step down is going to be hard to take.
Either way, it’s going to be interesting to see how Klopp rotates his players and the changes he makes in Europe.
In domestic cup competitions over the years, the German has always provided and handed chances to the youngsters, so will he open those same doors again?
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