Although they might have picked up three important points against Tottenham, one Liverpool player really struggled in their 2-1 win in north London. And Arne Slot needs to consider benching him moving forward.
Hoping to make it three consecutive wins in all competitions, the Reds made a tentative start to proceedings, as did the hosts. However, the game took a turn for the worse for Spurs when Xavi Simons needlessly flew into Virgil van Dijk and caught him high on the back of his leg. VAR sent referee John Brooks to the screen, with the official then electing to show a straight red card.
Liverpool weren’t able to find a breakthrough before half-time, and emerged from the break with more attacking intent. Bringing on Alexander Isak for Conor Bradley, the Swede repaid the faith shown in him 11 minutes later as he swept home Florian Wirtz’s through ball — although he was forced off with an injury because of Micky van de Ven’s attempted sliding tackle.
Tottenham came close to equalising when Randal Kolo Muani’s deflected effort struck the bar on a rare venture forward, but their opponents doubled their advantage when Hugo Ekitike rose highest to head home Jeremie Frimpong’s cross. Although Thomas Frank’s side got one back through Richarlison, any hopes of a comeback were eliminated when Cristian Romero was needlessly sent off after receiving a second yellow for kicking out at Ibrahima Konate.
Mac Allister Offered Nothing in Liverpool’s Win vs Tottenham
12/20/2025 – Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister during the Premier League match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London. Picture date: Saturday December 20, 2025. (Photo by Adam Davy/PA Images/Alamy Images/Sipa USA)
Tottenham and Liverpool both played at a snail’s pace for much of the game, with both sets of players looking scared to lose rather than showing intent to win. Nevertheless, Simons’ sending off should have been the spark which propelled the visitors forward, but they found themselves stifled by a lack of creativity for much of the game.
A big part of that comes down to options in midfield, and particularly Alexis Mac Allister. Florian Wirtz grabbed a first Premier League assist, while Dominik Szoboszlai, before being moved to right-back, at least posed a threat. Their Argentine teammate, however, simply let the game pass him by.
Playing in an advanced role against 10 men should have allowed the 26-year-old to dictate play and craft out opportunities, but he didn’t manage to do either of those. Playing just 29 passes in the game, completing 25 of them, he didn’t manage to play any key passes which crafted chances for teammates.
Check Out Mac Allister’s Statistics vs Tottenham:
Alexis Mac Allister vs Tottenham
Minutes Played
90
Touches
46
Key Passes
0
Accurate Passes
25/29 (86%)
Total Shots
3
Possession Lost
10
Defensive Contributions
2
Ground Duels (Won)
5 (1)
Aerial Duels (Won)
2 (1)
Dribbled Past
2
Also guilty of losing possession 10 times in the game, Mac Allister was careless and uncreative, two qualities which a number 10 simply can’t exhibit. Earning a 3/10 in GIVEMESPORT’s player ratings, Slot’s best play is to drop the midfielder entirely — he’s just not been good enough to start week in, week out.
Liverpool Fans Rage Over Mac Allister’s Performance
Premier League – Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain – December 20, 2025 Tottenham Hotspur’s Rodrigo Bentancur in action with Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley
There’s been a large amount of outcry online from Liverpool supporters in the wake of Saturday afternoon’s victory, as many are unhappy with what they saw from their engine room operator against Tottenham. One tweet bemoaned a lack of effort from him over 90 minutes, reading: “Genuinely getting sick of tired of seeing Mac Allister do nothing every single game. He runs like prime Usain Bolt for Argentina though.”
Another fan was incensed by every facet of the Argentine’s game against Spurs, stating: “Don’t really know how to properly explain it but Mac Allister is just so incapable these days.” More accused him of ghosting in the game, saying: “Mac Allister going missing again.”
Described as “awful” by a fellow Liverpool fan, another added: “Mac Allister might be the new Gakpo, starts every game despite putting out average performances every single week.” And one more asked: “What does Mac Allister contribute to the team?”
A final supporter said: “Watching Mac Allister nowadays is insane bro I’ve never seen a physical decline like this in my life.”