Arne Slot praises ‘underrated’ Liverpool star for role in Premier League title win

The Reds confirmed themselves as champions with their 5-1 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, as World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister added another trophy to his fast-growing collection

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has praised the contribution his “stand-out” midfielder Alexis Mac Allister has made to their Premier League title success. While the likes of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and even Ryan Gravenberch may be high up in the running for the club’s player of the year Mac Allister has, at times, gone unnoticed.

However, the Argentina World Cup winner started to reach peak form after Christmas and it was his goal to put Liverpool 2-1 up against Tottenham which kicked off the title party at Anfield last weekend.

“I don’t think he is underrated by me because he played maybe every game or close to every game,” said Slot. “Maybe the few times he didn’t play that was because he needed rest or he got a knock, so he couldn’t play. (He’s a) very important player, (has) game intelligence (and is) so comfortable on the ball.

“But what makes him even more special to me is normally players that have so much game inside and are so comfortable on the ball are not as aggressive and intense without the ball.

“He is one of the few players in the world that combines this great game intelligence, great on the ball, but (with) a tenacity without the ball. In our midfield, he stands out in terms of tenacity.”

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Slot has promised to make changes in the final four matches of the season to ensure fringe players are given an opportunity to increase their pitch time.

However, even though the title has been secured, holding a 15-point lead over second-placed Arsenal heading into the weekend, that does not mean he expects his players to be any less competitive, although he accepts with the job done there may be a drop in performance.

“We are going into these four games trying to win them all, of course, that’s what we always want, that’s what every player, every Liverpool shirt should aim for – winning a game of football,” the Dutchman added.

“I would judge us more on the amount of points we have now compared to teams that won it in the past four games before the end, because there’s definitely a difference if we’re still competing than the games we play now.

“That’s not to say that we’re going to lose them, we have a lot of trust in the players we’re going to play now as well.”

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