Liverpool are fighting to retain the Premier League title for the first time in their history, but the start of this season has been much more hectic than they would want. Management of the midfield can change the picture, but one of their primary options in this unit was again absent from the action.
‘It is always a risk’
Alexis Mac Allister came off the bench in the Community Shield against Crystal Palace, and then he was in the starting eleven at **Anfield**in the 4-2 win over Bournemouth. However, in both clashes, Ryan Gravenberch was out of action, attending to the birth of his baby before serving a suspension.
The return of the Dutchman, who scored the first goal of the game in Newcastle, might have meant the reunion of the double pivot that powered the Reds to the top spot in the table. But **Alexis Mac Allister**missed out again, with Curtis Jones filling in for him, and Arne Slot explained why.
“We are hoping. He had to leave the training pitch two days ago and that would not even be the biggest problem if he would have had a proper pre-season, but he missed out so many weeks.”
Dominik Szoboszlai started as a right back against the Toon, but he was in the middle of the park in the last two fixtures. He received criticism for some of his choices in a deeper position, but the Hungarian has the sharpness and the running power to cope with the demands of this moment.
“There is a reason why you go inside, because you feel something, and that is the difficult balance to find with players that were out so long in pre-season. There you bring the base for the whole season and you can see these intensity levels we faced last week and this topped it up 10 times, I think.”
The impact of a disruptive preseason has taken its toll. This time is given to raising the physical standards in the squad, and the Argentine was thrown into the fire against the Cherries, whose manager, Andoni Iraola, is an advocate of the intense style he experienced with Marcelo Bielsa.
“Then you need to be so, so, so fit and then it is always a risk if you bring a player that had a pre-season like this, had to go out two days ago in a training session, in this environment.”
He hopes that he will be ready to play against **Arsenal**at **Anfield**on Sunday afternoon. It is a tight turnaround, but his presence will help to hold back the Gunners, who are gunning for their crown.
“With such a long season to go, it was too much of a risk for me but I am hoping, hoping things in the upcoming one or two days so that he is available for Sunday.”