Liverpool will reward Mac Allister if he lets his football do talking

By

Liverpool reporter at Anfield

The sheer ferocity of the strike to beat Jan Oblak was one thing, but the raw emotion shown by Alexis Mac Allister as he grabbed the Liverpool badge on his shirt and celebrated in front of the Kop told you all that you needed to know.

Just a day earlier, Mac Allister had spoken with a different kind of emotion inside the press room at Anfield as he expressed his sadness at Liverpool not offering him a new contract during the summer.

The Argentine, who is currently contracted until 2028, spoke passionately about his love for the club and the city and how he didn't feel like he had anything to prove - but there was an admittance that he needed to show the level he knew he could perform at.

Thankfully for Andoni Iraola and Liverpool, Mac Allister did just that by letting his football do the talking in their 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid.

From the outset against Diego Simeone's side, the midfielder seemed like a man on a mission. He blazed over early on from outside the box then picked up a booking just before the half-hour mark. Seeing Simeone wave an imaginary yellow card when he wanted a second booking for his compatriot just before half-time told a story in itself.

Simeone could only watch on when Mac Allister's left foot connected with the ball from outside the box and leave a diving Oblak with no chance - turning the game on its head after Marcos Llorente's opening goal and Dominik Szoboszlai's equaliser.

It wasn't quite like the strike that produced an actual seismic event - reaching a peak magnitude of 1.74 on the Richter scale - when Mac Allister found the top corner against Tottenham in 2025 on the day Liverpool won the Premier League, but it was more than good enough to beat one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

And it was certainly what Iraola and the Anfield hierarchy would have wanted to see after a below-par campaign from Mac Allister last season.

The understanding is that they were of the belief that Mac Allister's performances did not warrant the offer of fresh terms.

But if he can carry on like this, then it will be a question of when rather than if that offer is made for whoever replaces Richard Hughes - even if Mac Allister said he didn't know if his goal would boost his chances of a new contract.

"It was a lovely goal from Alexis and a lovely goal from Dominik Szoboszlai. It is good the midfielders can add goals," said Iraola, who smartly navigated a question about Mac Allister's future.

"We have midfielders that naturally they are going to arrive to the box - it is inside them and it is good we can also benefit offensively."

Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson said on BBC Radio 5 Live it was "exactly what Mac Allister needed to do".

"If you don't get offered a new contract there's a reason, so what do you do? You go out and earn it," said Robinson.

"You work hard, you play to your level and he did that. He put himself about and popped up with a wonderful strike."

Five of Mac Allister's 20 goals for Liverpool in all competitions have now come from outside the penalty area.

Steven Gerrard knows more than most about playing in midfield and scoring from distance for Liverpool and he described Mac Allister's performance as "outstanding".

"Let your football do the talking," said Gerrard on TNT Sports. "Consistency, top performance, show your experience. Show you're a top international. This club will reward you."

Mac Allister himself said how it was a "positive step" for Liverpool as they won for the first time at Anfield this season on what was Iraola's debut as a manager in the Champions League.

"It was a good comeback," said Mac Allister on TNT Sports. "Overall, it was a good performance. Now we have to think about the next one.

"Before the game we spoke about the beginning of the first half and second half. I liked the mentality.

"I think we showed desire today. We got the fans behind us and that's really important when you play at Anfield. A positive step for us."

Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock said Mac Allister just needed to be put into a system that suits him to get the best out of him.

"I don't think he has to show his importance to Liverpool, I think everyone knows the qualities he has got anyway," said Warnock, who was a pundit on Wednesday's Match of the Day.

"I think there will be a lot of talk about him because of what has gone on in the past few days, but I think Liverpool fans were already asking why hasn't he been offered a new contract when other players have.

"To come out and talk about a contract situation like he did, a couple of days before a game, and to be able to back it up the way he did with a good performance is important - but it is over the course of the season, where his performances are important because if he wants a contract and he thinks he deserves a contract then if his performances are good, he will get one.

"We all know the qualities that he has got - he is a World Cup winner, a Premier League winner, we know that he's a very good player, it is just he has got to be put into the right system to make it work.

"At the moment Liverpool's system is a little bit dysfunctional but it is starting to get better and he will get better because of that."

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