Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister has given an insight into the difficulties he faced due to the timing of Saturday’s match at Manchester City. The summer signing admitted he struggled to keep his eyes open in the lead-up to the huge Premier League encounter.
Liverpool came away from the Etihad with a valuable point. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s 80th-minute strike cancelled out Erling Haaland’s 50th Premier League goal.
It was an important moment for Jurgen Klopp’s side to further prove they are in the title race this season. Klopp, as he so often has in the past, made it clear before the match that he was angry at the 12.30pm kick-off time.
Several of his players had been in South America on international duty just days before the match. Brazil played Argentina in the early hours of Wednesday morning UK time, while Colombia and Uruguay were also in action.
Mac Allister was one of the Liverpool contingent who arrived back in England less than 72 hours before the game at the Etihad was due to begin. Following Saturday’s draw, he admitted he almost fell asleep in a team meeting the day before.
Mac Allister told LFCTV: “Honestly, it’s so hard to play like this. Yesterday we were in a meeting talking about Man City and the way we wanted to play, and I couldn’t keep my eyes open.
“It’s very tough; jet lag, long trip. But it is what it is. We like playing football, it’s what we want. We want to win and that’s why we did our best today [Saturday].”
Klopp has never hidden his true feelings on games being rescheduled for TV selection in his eight years in England. He was delighted to pick up a point after having such a short period of time with his players.
Klopp said: “I know it’s part of the circus and all these kinds of things but preparing the most difficult game of the season away at the Etihad with one session is really a challenge. Maybe I’m just not good enough!
“That’s absolutely possible. But it’s really tricky to do that in 30 minutes on the pitch and 45 in the meeting.
“So, we needed the first half maybe to understand even more about that and we improved in details, which makes a difference, and we scored a goal and brought it over the line and I am very happy about that.”
