The March international break has been one that Alexis Mac Allister will recall with extreme fondness.
Last week, the Liverpool midfielder discovered that he and his girlfriend Ailen Cova are expecting their first child, and that joyous personal news was followed by two memorable results for the 26-year-old.
Argentina followed up a 1-0 win away to neighbours Uruguay – in which the Reds’ number 10 was involved in a brief fracas – by thrashing arch-rivals Brazil 4-1, prior to which results elsewhere meant that they’d secured qualification for the 2026 World Cup as they seek to retain the trophy.
Mac Allister praised by Argentine media
Mac Allister came in for widespread praise among his nation’s media for his performance on a memorable night in Buenos Aires, during which he scored his team’s third goal.
He was awarded a 9/10 player rarting by Pagina 12, who wrote of how he was ‘one of the most advanced players on the team’ and was ‘always signalling to organise’ his teammates.
BolaVip rated him at 8.5/10 and lauded a ‘precise finish’ for his goal as he was ‘one of the key players in a midfield that functioned perfectly’; while Ole gave him 8/10 for a performance of ‘pure authority’ as he ‘never made a mistake’, adding that the Liverpool maestro ‘has no ceiling’.
Mac Allister returns to Liverpool off a massive high
Mac Allister will have been delighted to score in such a resounding win over Argentina’s eternal rivals, and aside from the goal he played his part throughout a famous victory for his nation.
As per Sofascore, the 26-year-old completed 87% of his passes (27/31) and scored with his only shot of the match, along with winning two duels and making one interception and one clearance before he was substituted with 15 minutes to go, by which stage the result was firmly secured.
Along with Wataru Endo, he can already look forward to playing at next year’s World Cup finals, and he’ll now return to Liverpool off the back of a massive high, which he’ll hopefully carry over into our nine remaining matches this season.
Having scored against a fierce rival for his country last night, we’d dearly love to see Mac Allister doing the same at club level in the Merseyside derby in a week’s time!
