Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said Alexis Mac Allister’s versatility has added a different dimension to his midfield this season.
The Argentina World Cup-winner was a stand-out performer in a deeper-lying role again on Sunday as Liverpool strolled to a 3-0 home win against Nottingham Forest.
After Liverpool’s seventh league win of the season kept them three points behind leaders Tottenham, Klopp said of Mac Allister’s role: “It’s obviously really not a discussion we have, otherwise we wouldn’t play him there.
“But I think today everybody could see the benefit of a player who comes rather from the offensive side of the game than from the other side.”
Mac Allister scored 12 goals for Brighton last season in a more advanced position before signing a five-year deal with Liverpool, who paid £55million for him in June.
He was key to Liverpool in his new role on Sunday as they kept Forest pinned deep in their own half, with two goals in four first-half minutes from Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez followed by Mohamed Salah’s second-half effort.
“I’m really pleased for him,” Klopp added. “A lot of defensive top moments, he checked the counter, was really there. He’s good at these things. That’s why we play him there.
“We have a really creative player in the centre of the park, together with Trent (Alexander-Arnold) in some moments obviously, which is very helpful.”
Forest’s winless league run was extended to six games as boss Steve Cooper contends with a string of injuries, but they remain five points above the relegation zone.
Chris Wood was a late withdrawal from Sunday’s squad due to a hamstring injury and with Taiwo Awoniyi returning to the bench after a groin problem, Cooper was short of options up front.
He said: “We were defensive and tried to play on the counter-attack. But I came here the other night when Liverpool played Toulouse and it finished 5-1 and was over fairly quickly.
“You can come here and try to be expansive and you can be on the end of a really, really difficult result. We’re not on the end of a good result, of course, but I’ve seen really good teams come here and get punished.
“We were forced into the team we had to pick, certainly at the top end of the pitch. When we got some of the players in more normal positions, you could see a little bit of a better identity. But the third goal killed it.”
