Roberto De Zerbi was really impressed by a 25-year-old Liverpool player who he says has become ‘great’ recently.
Today, a lot of eyes were on Roberto De Zerbi at Liverpool. He is after all among the candidates to replace Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
He is also a manager who up until today, had not lost a single game to Klopp in four previous attempts. Given how well he has done at Brighton it’s natural for him to be involved in the conversation regarding Klopp’s successors.
Based on Brighton’s performance today, it’s difficult to argue against De Zerbi as well. Even though his unbeaten run ended against Jurgen Klopp, Brighton caused Liverpool plenty of problems.
De Zerbi’s side often attacked with speed, and created plenty of chances. They even took a surprise lead, thanks to Danny Welbeck.
In the end, the difference for Liverpool was the quality of players on the pitch. Including one special individual moment.
Roberto De Zerbi on the Liverpool player who impressed him
Liverpool’s decisive moment came in the second-half, when Dominik Szoboszlai found Alexis Mac Allister just on the edge of Brighton’s penalty area. Mac Allister then sent a sublime through ball to Mohamed Salah, who couldn’t miss.
It was Alexis Mac Allister’s 12th goal contribution for Liverpool. This is now the joint most from midfield alongside Dominik Szoboszlai.
This was also the first time Mac Allister provided Salah with an assist, something the Egyptian has apparently been asking Liverpool’s number 10 to do more often.
Speaking after the game in his press conference as per the Daily Mail’s Lewis Steele, Roberto De Zerbi was full of praise for Mac Allister.
“He became a great player,” De Zerbi said. “The assist was incredible. I am proud of him. He deserves to be an important player in a big team.”
Alexis Mac Allister’s stats against Brighton
De Zerbi is right to highlight Alexis Mac Allister. He was simply sensational today, and he has become more than just a ‘great’ player. He is probably in the phenomenal category now.
Today was yet another example of that. Mac Allister was once again Liverpool’s best player on the pitch.
These were the 25-year-old’s key stats from the game against Brighton, as per to Fotmob:
- Most chances created in the match (6)
- 5 key passes
- 92% pass accuracy
- 6 recoveries
- 11 passes into the opposition’s final third
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