Liverpool have every right to be furious after Alexis Mac Allister's use this week. Argentina took a massive risk.
Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni was surprisingly open this week as he discussed Alexis Mac Allister's fitness. The World Cup-winning coach admitted that the player wasn't 100 per cent fit.
Now, that's been clear to every Liverpool fan. Mac Allister hasn't played 90 minutes in any of the Reds' four fixtures this season and only started two.
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An injury in the last training session ahead of the Community Shield kept him out of that showpiece, while Mac Allister also didn't start the Premier League opener. In total, he's played just 131 minutes out of the 360 available.
And so it was a surprise to hear Scaloni openly say that despite the fitness concerns, Mac Allister was 'fine' to play against Ecuador on Tuesday. Liverpool don't appear to believe he's 'fine', if his limited minutes are anything to go by.
Which means they have every right to be furious with how Tuesday went.
Alexis Mac Allister vs Ecuador
Mac Allister didn’t just play against Ecuador - he played the full 90 minutes. He was one of three midfielders to start the fixture and the only one who wasn’t subbed off.
That, to us, is bizarre and a risk that absolutely was not worth taking. Argentina had already recognised that certain players had concerns, given the heavily-rotated side for the match.
And yet they didn’t view Mac Allister as a risk or a caution. They played him for every minute, 20 more than he’s had in any fixture this season.
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