Alexis Mac Allister has made clear his big ambitions with Liverpool, declaring that he hopes “this is the beginning of something great.”
After 30 years of toil, near misses and occasional success, Liverpool finally won the title by 18 points in 2020.
The Reds had been building to that triumph, though, and had just come off the back of a Champions League victory and 97-point Premier League campaign.
This season, they are again strolling to a title by some distance, but even the players didn’t expect there to be such a margin to their nearest rivals.
Mac Allister told ESPN: “I didn’t feel that we were going to win the league as easily as we did, because we are in a process that is just getting started.
“For many, it was a big change. The coach and the team know that we can continue to improve, and hopefully this is the beginning of something great.
“I think I’m in the best moment of my career. I’m happy with the season I had and for being able to show what I can do at this great club, but I always said that I depend a lot on my team.
“I found players who helped me a lot in my game.”
Mac Allister has grown into one of the team’s most important players this season and is now indispensable to the Reds.
Having won the World Cup with Argentina and scored on the way to the final, it is fair to say the 26-year-old has already seen a lot in his career.
Nothing compared to the emotion he felt when Liverpool secured the Premier League against Tottenham, however.
“The goal against Tottenham is the most important goal of my career,” the midfielder said.
“I don’t know if it’s the best I’ve ever scored, but it’s definitely the most important.
“I’m happy with the season I’ve had. I think I’m in the best moment of my career and I can show in this great club what I can do. But I always said that I depend a lot on my team, I met players who helped me a lot in my game.”
Liverpool were less successful in the Champions League this season.
Despite finishing top of the league phase table, they met a strong Paris Saint-Germain side in the round of 16 and were knocked out on penalties.
“We were unlucky in the draw, we got a great team,” Mac Allister reflected.
“It’s hard to say, but we would have loved to have gone further. Either team could have reached the semifinals. They were better on penalties, but next year we’re going to fight.”
European glory is the next step for this Liverpool team but the league will remain the “bread and butter,” as Bill Shankly once put it.
To take the next step, Arne Slot will require incomings this summer so he can rotate his team more frequently and compete on all fronts. Mac Allister, however, will remain crucial to the team going forward.
