The Evolution of Alexis Mac Allister | OneFootball

By Stephen Brooks @SBrooks_LFC

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Whilst many performers for Liverpool this season have been below standard, the case of Alexis Mac Allister has been one of the most interesting. Usually so reliable and consistent, this season he has seemed off his natural levels. Some like Slot put it down to a lack of pre-season after the mysterious injury at the back end of last season, whilst others put it down to a lack of speed in the modern era of extreme physicality. What is apparent is that for one reason or another he has not managed to dominate the midfield in quite the same way he did last season. 

Mac Allister seemed to be a bit of a midfield all-rounder in that he appeared equally adept at playing a defence-splitting through ball as he was performing a crunching tackle to prevent an opponent’s attack. However this year it seems his defensive numbers have fallen off somewhat. In the last 2 seasons he averaged 3.43 (2023/24) and 3.29 tackles (2024/25) per 90 which is quite significant for a midfielder. In comparison, this season Mac Allister averages 1.59 tackles per 90, and the highest Liverpool player who is a consistent starter is unsurprisingly Dominik Szoboslai with 2.30 per 90. This shows that not only is Mac Allister significantly reducing his defensive actions this season, but so is the whole team. 

This can be explained by a few things in my eyes. Firstly his performance levels. Whether it be no pre-season or his injury upsetting his rhythm, something may have caused Mac Allister to fall off the levels slightly. These factors we cannot speculate about from the outside. Secondly the approach of opposition teams against us- the increase in use of long balls meaning there are more aerial duels and challenges rather than short passes and opportunities to tackle. Thirdly, the slight change in how Liverpool are pressing compared to last season. Slot often talked last year about opponents beating our press too often for his liking, and that we were perhaps a tad fortunate that the likes of Van Dijk and Konate performed so well that it didn’t lead to more serious problems. One such game was at home to Brighton, where we won the game 2-1, thanks largely to a significant change in approach in the 2nd half. During the first half Brighton exposed our press on multiple occasions and were able to progress the ball through the middle third with ease. 

The images here showcase the mid-block we adopted for spells in the first half, with our classic lopsided shape with Gakpo significantly deeper than Salah, and then Szoboszlai joining Nunez as the 2 central pressers responsible for blocking the passing lanes into the CM’s and closing down the defenders on the ball. Mac Allister is performing a screening job largely, with the option to push up onto Yasin Ayari if required. This seems fine to start with however Brighton were able to pass around the mid-block repeatedly, partly because Nunez and Szoboszlai were dragged wide by the centre backs, which left both the CM’s spare in the ‘pivot’ position. 

Compare that to this season against Aston Villa and that familiar lopsided mid-block. The main difference in these pictures is that Mac Allister is a lot higher up against Villa, and indeed pressing one of the two defensive midfielders rather than protecting the pass into an attacker as he was against Brighton. He is notably closer to Ekitike and Szoboszlai in an attempt to stop ball progression higher up the pitch, and that seems to be one of the aims this season. To showcase this Mac Allister is up in attacking third tackles, from 0.48 (23/24) and 0.55 (24/25) p90 to 0.63 p90 this year, despite the reduction in overall tackles. This highlights his altered role as a more front-footed presser this season, a role he has shown to be very adept at before. And if the Aston Villa game is anything to go by it seems to be working, with both our goals resulting from high turnovers. 

So, Mac Allister’s tackling numbers are down but so are the whole team’s, and the aforementioned high pressing approach helps to explain that. In the Brighton game last season we encouraged ball progression in our mid block in the knowledge that we had robust defenders capable of stepping in, plus a combative midfield of Mac Allister and Gravenberch to mop up. This year we are more proactively pressing the final third, and Mac Allister isn’t permanently set up to make middle and defensive third tackles. Instead we may expect more interceptions and blocked passes by forcing errors from the opposition in their defensive third. From these games alone we can see the difference. Mac Allister made 3 tackles in 65 minutes against Brighton, and 2 in 90 this year against Aston Villa. He also blocked just 1 pass against Brighton, but blocked 2 against Aston Villa. Whilst this season remains a small sample size to go on, and of 

course there is the elephant in the room which is the long ball tactics we seem to face more often, it is interesting to see whether this theme with a more aggressive press persists when the opportunity arises. 

Alexis Mac Allister has the hallmarks of a world class midfielder: a plethora of well timed but aggressive tackles to regain possession, plenty of ball harrying and effortless artistry in possession with long and short passes. He hasn’t quite fulfilled that this season as of yet, but some recent performances against Aston Villa and Real Madrid suggest perhaps he is back to his best, this time with a more aggressive role out of possession.