Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool is a well-oiled machine by now. Things are clicking into gear all the time. And the Reds are looking comfortable at the top of the Premier League table.
Of course, not everything is perfect. The Reds will rue not beating Arsenal at the Emirates earlier this month. But they have moved on from that disappointment. Last weekend, Klopp’s side bounced back – showing great mettle to beat Burnley in difficult circumstances.
On paper, Burnley at Anfield in front of a record crowd may have been an ‘easy’ game, but with background context, it was far from it. Liverpool were not only missing key players due to injury but several others were also absent because of an outbreak of flu in the squad. This meant Klopp was forced into changes, and he was forced into fielding a much changed line-up.
So in the end, while the game itself wasn’t quite as pretty as we would have expected, Liverpool can be satisfied with the 3-1 scoreline. There will be plenty for Klopp to digest, though. Including making one possible tweak in the line-up for Liverpool’s next game against Brentford.
John Aldridge on Alexis Mac Allister
According to John Aldridge, writing in his Liverpool ECHO column, Klopp should consider playing Mac Allister deeper against Brentford.
The Argentine was signed for £35m in the summer (Sky Sports). Many expected him to play the role of a number eight in Klopp’s system when he first arrived. But first out of necessity, and now simply because he is well-suited to the job – Mac Allister has played most of his minutes as a holding midfielder.
Burnley was one of the rare occasions when Mac Allister was actually asked of playing further forward with Wataru Endo coming back into the side. Now Aldridge has explained that he thinks Klopp will want the Argentine to play differently next weekend.
“Next up is a difficult one away to Brentford, which is a venue we haven’t won at since their promotion to the Premier League back in 2021,” Aldridge wrote.
“They will be bang up for it you have to feel and Ivan Toney will be fancying his chances having recently returned to the team. The big thing for me will be what Klopp does around the midfield and more specifically Wataru Endo and Alexis Mac Allister.
“Mac Allister was played in his more favoured No.8 position against Burnley but I thought he had one of his quieter games as a result. I don’t think Jurgen will necessarily need to change the system but winning the second balls and coming out on top in the midfield scrap will be imperative to getting a good result in west London.
“So I think this will be where Jurgen will ask Mac Allister to drop a little bit deeper next to Endo at times to close those spaces and make sure Brentford don’t make the most of those second balls around the Liverpool penalty area. It’s all about your starting positions and there will be work to do on the training pitch this week for that.”
We have to agree. Mac Allister has looked a lot better in a deeper position for Liverpool. And a double pivot with him and Endo could work very well.
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