
Anfield Index
·8 June 2025
Liverpool star opens up on horror challenge in Everton clash

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·8 June 2025
Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister has delivered a sobering account of a tackle that could have ended his season and potentially his career. In a candid interview from Argentina, the 25-year-old recounted the moment Everton’s James Tarkowski lunged into him during the Reds’ 1-0 Merseyside derby win in April.
“It could have broken my leg twice! That they didn’t send him (Tarkowski) off was incredible. If I’d had my foot planted on the ground, it would have broken my leg completely,” Mac Allister said, laying bare the shocking impact of a challenge that only resulted in a yellow card. “At the time, I realised it was too strong. But what shocked me most was his face when he went for the tackle.”
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Mac Allister was pivotal in Liverpool’s title-winning campaign under new manager Arne Slot, bringing composure and clarity to the midfield. His absence from Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Colombia due to injury has been a blow for Lionel Scaloni’s side. Liverpool, too, will be monitoring his recovery closely with pre-season plans already underway.
In the same interview, Mac Allister turned his attention to Manchester City’s Jack Grealish, branding him the Premier League’s “biggest provocateur”. “Grealish – you feel like kicking him,” Mac Allister admitted. “But even when you do, he gets right back up. And somehow, that makes you feel like you’re winning!”
Having clashed with Grealish in his Brighton days, Mac Allister noted how the England international often draws fouls and frustrates opponents with his resilience and theatrics. “I wouldn’t say he was going to try to break me, but I feel I was lucky given the way he went in,” he added, reflecting again on Tarkowski’s tackle.
Liverpool’s Mac Allister continues to show bravery both on and off the pitch.