Everyone around Liverpool is running out of patience after another miserable defeat, and Jamie Carragher clearly falls into that category.
In a performance that felt far too familiar, Aston Villa played Liverpool off the park. There was very little to praise from a Liverpool perspective, but plenty to criticise. The defending was poor, the midfield lacked control, and the attack never really carried enough threat to worry Villa outside of set-pieces.
Yet one late moment involving Alexis Mac Allister summed up the frustration perfectly. With Liverpool needing urgency and fight, the Argentine instead produced the kind of needless theatrics that left Carragher fuming on commentary.
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Jamie Carragher takes aim at Alexis Mac Allister during Liverpool loss to Aston Villa
Frustration was the theme of the day for Liverpool. The travelling support would have wanted something from the final away game of the season. At the very least, they would have wanted a performance with some pride and intensity behind it.
Instead, they got a team that looked a couple of steps off the pace from the first minute. Villa were more aggressive, stronger, and decisive in what they wanted to do.
Late in the game, with Liverpool needing a huge effort to force their way back into it, the urgency still was not there. That is why Mac Allister’s moment got such a harsh reaction from Carragher.
The midfielder went down after minimal contact, holding his ankle while Liverpool desperately needed the game to keep moving.
Speaking on the Sky Sports broadcast, he said: “Honest to god. He goes down every game with something on his ankle. Get up. How embarrassing is that.
“What I don’t get is, every player up and down the country knows we’re going to look at the replays. We all know he hasn’t done what you’re trying to make out he’s done.”
Mac Allister has struggled massively for Liverpool this season. Physically, he has not looked where he needs to be. Technically, he has been far too loose too often.
So much so, that talks of an Anfield exit have been circulating on Merseyside and further afield. We know what Mac Allister is at his best — we’ve seen something very different over the course of this campaign.
Going down too easily in that situation put him in the firing line. Liverpool needed players to take responsibility, drive forward and put Villa under pressure.
This is not just about one player. Liverpool look completely devoid of hunger, almost crawling towards the finish line of a dismal season.
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But Carragher’s frustration landed on the Argentine because he gave him the moment. Mac Allister has often been one of Liverpool’s more combative players, so to see him reduced to that was another worrying sign.
Liverpool do not look like a team fighting for their manager. They look like a dressing room waiting for the season to end.
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