Alexis Mac Allister explains main differences between Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot

Alexis Mac Allister admitted he prefers playing in Arne Slot’s more measured Liverpool team compared to Jurgen Klopp’s. Mac Allister signed for the Reds in June 2023 ahead of what would transpire to be Klopp’s last season in charge.

The Argentina international was a regular under the departing German but didn’t look wholly convincing in the middle of the park, where he was often deployed in a deeper role to the one fans had been used to seeing him in for Brighton. But he’s been a different player under Slot this season.

As for the team as a whole, Mac Allister agreed with The Rest Is Football host Gary Lineker that Slot has a less intense and more calculated approach than Klopp. Appearing on the podcast, he said: “That’s the main difference, the tactical side.

“As I say, I think it’s about finding the free man, the space, and try to attack it – and be more patient when you have the ball.” Lineker then asked him: “Does it suit you?”

“Yeah, yeah for sure,” Mac Allister swiftly replied. Slot’s arrival has seen him largely freed of the defensive duties he was being asked to carry out more rigidly by Klopp.

Ryan Gravenberch has taken those responsibilities instead, which his colleague is grateful for. “For me it’s different as well because it’s a different position,” he continued. “We spoke before that last season I played as a six, and now it’s more a double six, or sometimes I could even play as an eight or a 10, whatever you want to call it.”

One of the appealing factors as to why Anfield chiefs paid an initial £35million, a fee potentially rising to £55m, to sign him was his versatility. But Mac Allister explained his roots lie further forward.

“I started playing as a 10,” he added. “In Argentina normally the system is a 4-2-3-1, so I used to play behind the nine and used to be more of an attacker.

“It changed when I arrived to Brighton, and since that moment I think I’ve learned and understood the game a little bit more. That’s what I try every single day, to understand positions or the spaces I need to attack.”