Alexis Mac Allister’s league-worst stat shows Liverpool summer transfer priority

Alexis Mac Allister has arguably been Liverpool’s best player this season, but the 3-3 draw at Aston Villa highlighted how sorely the Argentine needs support.

Mac Allister’s £35 million switch from Brighton should go down as the bargain of the summer transfer window, with the 25-year-old worth significantly more.

He has stood up as an indispensable player in Jurgen Klopp‘s final season, with only Virgil van Dijk (3,982) and Luis Diaz (3,542) clocking more minutes than his 3,430.

But that importance to the side has undoubtedly worn Mac Allister down, as could be seen during the trip to Villa Park on Monday night that saw Liverpool go 3-1 up only to concede twice late on and take only a point.

The World Cup winner started as the left-sided No. 8 in a midfield anchored by Wataru Endo and led by Harvey Elliott as the creator.

When Klopp opted for a quadruple substitution with 15 minutes to play, however, Mac Allister dropped into the No. 6 with Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch more advanced.

Mac Allister had already been at fault in the buildup to Villa’s first goal, giving the ball away before Ollie Watkins pulled it back for Youri Tielemans to fire in.

Feel like Villa's first goal was a great example of Liverpool's issues being rooted in their aggressiveness. At 1-0 up, why is Mac Allister trying an impatient, eye-of-the-needle pass immediately after a turnover in midfield? Seconds later, Watkins is at Quansah and it's a goal. pic.twitter.com/PNAC5kMkGB

— David Lynch (@dmlynchlfc) May 14, 2024

He was then easily bypassed by a one-two in midfield to give Douglas Luiz the space to set in motion a Watkins goal that was eventually ruled out by VAR.

After shifting into his deeper role, he was pickpocketed after a sloppy touch to allow Jhon Duran to score the first of his brace, and then easily skipped past by Moussa Diaby before Duran’s fortunate second.

Stats show Mac Allister’s weakness

Put simply, Mac Allister looked tired, and FotMob statistics show that he was dribbled past more times (four) than any other midfielder, with only Trent Alexander-Arnold (five) ending the Game with more.

Across the Premier League season, he has been dribbled past 66 times, which puts him in the third percentile for players in his position.

Alexis Mac Allister has been dribbled past 66 times in the Premier League this season (4 times against Aston Villa), more than any other Liverpool player in a single campaign across the last eight seasons. ? pic.twitter.com/qS3Qtf9wKW

— Squawka (@Squawka) May 13, 2024

According to Squawka, no Liverpool player has been dribbled past more in any of the past eight seasons, meaning Mac Allister’s rate is the worst of Klopp’s reign.

And per WhoScored, as a whole the Reds have been dribbled past more times (413) than any other team across Europe’s top five leagues this campaign.

Mac Allister adapted well to the demands of playing as a No. 6, but his best run of form only came when Endo was brought into the side and he was able to assume his natural role again.

With question marks over whether Endo is a long-term starter, it shows an area that Liverpool desperately need to address again this summer.

Sign a top-class No. 6 and let Mac Allister flourish in an advanced position.

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