Man United know Alexis Mac Allister is ready to take on a role at Liverpool that Mohamed Salah ‘hates’

Incoming midfielder Alexis Mac Allister has an important weapon to offer Liverpool after Jürgen Klopp had to make up his mind last season over Mohamed Salah’s shortcomings.

In early May, Brighton beat Manchester United 1-0 at the Amex Stadium to give Liverpool a glimmer of hope in their race to the top four of the Premier League.
Defeat for Erik ten Hag’s side saw Liverpool go within four points, although Manchester United still had a game in hand.

The match winner for the Seagulls that night was Alexis Mac Allister, and coincidentally he’s now on the verge of becoming a Liverpool player (via The Guardian).

Mac Allister’s crucial goal came in the 99th minute, making it the last goal in a Premier League match since – poetically – Bruno Fernandes grabbed three points for United against the Seagulls in September 2020. Both attacks came from the penalty spot and both displayed supreme composure at a decisive moment.

Mac Allister is truly a specialist when it comes to penalties, having scored nine out of 10 in his professional career, according to Transfermarkt.

His only miss came in a game away to Wolves last season, and even then he made amends from 12 yards in the same half, with Brighton winning 3-0.

Since then he has scored seven in a row, or eight if you count the one in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United (again) in April.

Only Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (seven) has scored more from the penalty spot than the Argentine (six) in 2022/23.

Looking at Mac Allister’s seven shots on goal this season, some clear trends can be seen.

The first is the variety of his placements – three went right, three left and one in the middle.
In terms of height, he preferred the top corner (four times), which is of course a high risk, high reward strategy.

Mac Allister struck in the top right corner against Brentford and in the FA Cup game against Manchester United, the only time he scored consecutive penalties from the same spot.

He preferred to mix things up from one penalty to another, which made it almost impossible for goalkeepers to prepare. The other trend was build quality.

All but one of his penalties ended up in the corner or the side netting, with the inevitable exception of his midfield shot against Leicester. It alludes to Mac Allister’s near robotic cool under that unique print.

By contrast, Mohamed Salah, Liverpool’s best penalty taker, missed two consecutive penalties earlier in the season and didn’t even use the keeper against Bournemouth or Arsenal.

At this point, Jurgen Klopp said he would talk to the Egyptian to stay in the job but ultimately opted to back him. He was rewarded with successful efforts in back-to-back matches against Spurs and Fulham in late April/early May.

However, trust in Salah will have diminished in these situations, not least because he also lost some in the 2021/22 season.

With Mac Allister, Liverpool may soon have a more reliable option at their disposal.

Given his stature within the club and his obsession with individual goal milestones, Klopp seems unlikely he will deprive Salah of penalties, although he has admitted he dislikes the role.

“I hate pens all the time, I don’t like the feel,” he told Steven Gerrard on LFCTV’s ‘When Stevie Met Salah’ (via This is Anfield) earlier this year.

Mac Allister is likely to replace outgoing James Milner, who has impressively buried 19 of his 21 penalties for Liverpool, as the designated replacement.

But if Salah falters again and Klopp decides it’s time to move, then he’ll be ready to step in and present a valuable weapon in his arsenal. Manchester United knows this all too well.