Liverpool inched closer to securing their second-ever Premier League title with a dramatic 2-1 win over West Ham United at Anfield on Sunday.
The Reds took the lead through Luis Diaz in the first half and appeared to be on for a comfortable win, before an own goal from Andy Robertson made it 1-1 in the second half.
Just minutes after that equaliser, though, Virgil van Dijk stepped up with a perfect header to win the match for Arne Slot’s side in the 89th minute.
Why Virgil van Dijk's performance was not perfect
It was not a perfect display by the Netherlands international by any means, despite scoring the winning goal, as his defensive work – unusually – left a bit to be desired.
The former Southampton colossus lost 100% (2/2) of his ground duels and made an error that directly led to a shot for the Hammers, in what was a shaky performance at times.
Robertson also appeared to point the finger at him for the Scottish defender’s own goal in the second half, as van Dijk came across and completely missed his attempted intervention – getting in the full-back’s way and inadvertently contributing to the own goal.
Because of these issues with his display, there were some stars who performed even better than the captain – including central midfielder Alexis Mac Allister.
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Alexis Mac Allister is as undroppable as Mo Salah
The Argentina international was better than van Dijk and just proved that he is as undroppable as Mo Salah, who broke the record for combined goals and assists in a single 38-game Premier League season with his assist for Diaz.
Liverpool’s wing wizard is, of course, undroppable when fit and available because of the quality that he can provide in the final third, as evidenced by that record.
Mac Allister, who earned a player rating of 8/10 from the Liverpool Echo, is just as undroppable because of the quality that he brings to the Liverpool midfield in and out of possession on a consistent basis.
Minutes
90
Key passes
2
Assists
1
Shots on target
2
Dribbles completed
1/1
Ground duels won
6/10
Tackles + interceptions
4
As you can see in the table above, the 26-year-old talent was solid out of possession, winning 60% of his ground duels, and broke up attacks with four tackles and interceptions combined.
The former Brighton & Hove Albion star also offered a threat at the top end of the pitch with two key passes and an assist for van Dijk’s winner with an excellent delivery from a corner, to go along with two shots on target.
Mac Allister combines hard work and tenacity out of possession with composure and class on the ball to make him the perfect box-to-box midfield player for Liverpool and Slot, which is why he is as important to the team as Salah in many ways because he can impact games at both ends of the field.
He was even better than van Dijk against West Ham, because he did not make any big errors as the centre-back did, and should remain a regular starter in the final matches of the Premier League campaign.
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