Six Key Reasons Liverpool Star Has Become the Team’s Weak Link After Chelsea Defeat
Six poor statistics explain Alexis Mac Allister’s slide after he “drowned” against Chelsea, making him an unexpected weak link in Liverpool’s squad.
With three consecutive defeats to Crystal Palace, Galatasaray, and Chelsea, Liverpool’s start to the 2025–26 season has been quite concerning.
In addition to winning the Champions League and Carabao Cup over Atletico Madrid and Southampton, the Reds started the new season with five straight Premier League victories.
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However, their problems were evident as they had to rely on fleeting displays of excellence from their best players to save subpar performances.
With a concerning lack of balance and poor individual performances, they have ran out of luck against more formidable opponents, and head coach Arne Slot is having a lot of trouble.
Although Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, and Ibrahima Konate have received the most attention, Mac Allister’s problems are just as troubling.
Last season, Mac Allister was among the Premier League’s top center-midfielders and just missed being named to our team of the year, but this season has been completely different.
Since Slot gradually brought him into the fold, Mac Allister has had a stop-start start to the season and has yet to play 90 minutes in the Premier League.
He should have been hooked much before the 86th minute, Mac Allister’s attempt to finish a Premier League game this season came closest during the Chelsea match.
In his 16 Conclusions on the 2-1 loss to Chelsea, our own Matt Stead rightly criticised the “abysmal” Liverpool star, saying that the “so poor” midfielder was “drowning in the midfield battle.”
“The Moises Caicedo goal, our thoughts are with John Aldridge at this time was just the most glaring example, as a simple sidestep eliminated the admittedly isolated Mac Allister from the game entirely,” Stead said in reference to Mac Allister’s role in Moises Caicedo’s opening goal for Chelsea.
The Liverpool defence still had to let Caicedo alone for an excruciatingly long time in order for the midfielder to set up and line up a shot a few times before finally putting one into the top corner.
Those problems in the midfield, the one position Liverpool didn’t really alter this summer were the cause. Additionally, six damning statistics that were supplied by the talented people at Opta highlight Mac Allister’s shortcomings this season.
First of all, Mac Allister has struggled in ground duels this season, winning just 46.4% of them,a lower percentage than Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai as demonstrated by Caicedo’s easy pass of him on Saturday.
He has also performed poorly when in possession, as he has only the eighth-most progressive carries (28) of any player in Liverpool’s roster, and only one of those possessions resulted in a shot. He has also failed to generate a chance, an assist, or a goal.
This season, Mac Allister has also wasted his chances on goal and failed to make a single through pass. He has only had one shot on target out of five attempts.
Slot and others may cite Mac Allister’s injury issues as a justification, but he has been far from it and is currently one of Liverpool’s midfield’s weak points.
Part of the problem is tactical. Last season Mac Allister thrived to drift and pick late passes; under Slot he’s expected to anchor higher, close gaps and trigger transitions duties that expose his reluctance to run into tight channels and invite pressure.
That mismatch leaves Liverpool short of a reliable pivot and forces wide players to cover ground. Fixes are obvious: simplify his brief to short, safe progressions, play him with a disciplined partner,.or rotate him until he’s back in form again.
Until then, Mac Allister will increasingly look like a player that’s just tired, not a flop.
