Alexis Mac Allister has provided an insightful analysis of Liverpool’s evolving midfield under head coach Arne Slot.
The Argentine international has played in all 17 matches of Slot’s tenure so far, starting in all but one of Liverpool’s 15 Premier League and Champions League games.
Slot has had an outstanding start at Anfield, leading the team to 15 victories, one draw, and only one defeat from those 17 matches.
Alexis Mac Allister has detailed how his role has transformed this season compared to his responsibilities under former manager Jurgen Klopp.
He recently told the club’s official matchday programme: “In terms of the change, perhaps with Jürgen I played as a lone five [holding midfielder]. So, the position was very different. I was much more defensive than anything else.
“Nowadays, given we play with two fives, I can be a little freer and if we start with two sitting midfielders and one a little further forward, that changes things.
“For instance, when the ball goes out to the left full-back, I’m the one who can move further forward, and Ryan [Gravenberch] becomes the number five.
“So, the system has changed a little, but the main ideas are the same. I think perhaps the big change is in having that patience to have longer periods of possession and dominate games more and obviously that creates more chances.”
Despite Liverpool’s strong start to the campaign – with the Reds sitting five points clear at the top of the Premier League, atop their Champions League group, and in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup – Mac Allister believes the transition from Klopp to Slot is still a work in progress.
He added: “I think we’re in that transitional period.
“We were used to being very direct and perhaps played more long balls and nowadays with the new coach, the idea is completely different, and we are working on being more patient, to have longer periods in possession so that the games aren’t as end-to-end so that we can dominate them.
“I think that was kind of the mistake we made in the Premier League game against Nottingham Forest, which cost us the match. But like I said, we are in a transitional period. Jürgen was here for eight years so it’s not so easy to change that playing style but that’s what we’re working on, and I think we’re doing it very well.
“I think we’ve all been really happy with the arrival of Arne and we all know how much he knows about football, so for us it’s great and we know that this is the journey we are on.
“I feel like there has been a big change, not just in terms of the managers, but in terms of the management team and the sporting director too. But to be honest, we are working really well.
“I feel there’s a lot of positivity within the club and we’re working fantastically well with the new manager. We can really see that he has great ideas, his mentality and what he gets across to us is important so we’re happy.
“Like I say, we’re still in this transitional phase of looking to get to where the manager wants us to be.”
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