Why Alexis Mac Allister was missing for Liverpool in the 3-2 loss against Brighton & Hove Albion at the AMEX Stadium.
Arne Slot has explained why Alexis Mac Allister was absent from Liverpool’s squad against Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Reds’ wait for a victory since being crowned Premier League champions goes on as they suffered a 3-2 defeat at the AMEX Stadium. Liverpool led twice courtesy of first-half goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Harvey Elliott but allowed Brighton back into the game after the break.
Mac Allister has been one of the Reds’ key players this season but was not involved against his former club. Slot confirmed that the Argentina international has been carrying a minor issue for some time and he will also not feature in Sunday’s clash against Crystal Palace when the Premier League title will be lifted at Anfield.
But Mac Allister should be fit by the time pre-season starts for the Reds’ title defence. Speaking at his post-match press conference, Liverpool head coach Slot said: “Alexis will not play for us this season anymore. He needs rest at this moment in time to recover completely and to be ready for the start of next season, but it will be no problem for him to be back next season.
“I think he played throughout the last part of the season with the Argentinian mentality he has. Never gives up, no matter what he feels, but it is not smart to play a player that has, not a big injury but something to take a risk with.”
Liverpool made a fine start when Elliott rounded off a sweeping move in the ninth minute. Brighton equalised through Yasin Ayari but Szoboszlai’s stoppage-time effort restored the lead.
But the Reds could not extend their advantage after the break, with Mo Salah missing a glorious chance and left the door open for Brighton. Kaoru Mitoma got the Seagulls level before Jack Hinshlewood came off the bench to score with five minutes remaining.
Salah is set to win the Premier League Golden Boot. He has scored 28 goals this season and heads into the final day of the campaign five clear of Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak,
However, Salah is in pursuit of the most goals and assists in a single Premier League season. He remains one behind the joint record of Alan Shearer and Andy Cole (47). Liverpool’s talisman has fired blank in the past three games since the title was yielded. However, Slot is confident that Salah can bounce back against Palace. He added: “The first thought that goes through my head when I see a ball moving towards Mo, I am like, 'It's a quite big chance, this could lead to a goal' because that's what Mo normally does. He has been throughout this season almost un-human, but there were moments in the season where he was human. So, it's not the first time that he is not scoring for one or two games in a row, but the good thing for us is that this hardly ever happens and if it happens you can be sure he will score in either the third or fourth game again.”
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