'He doesn't have': Arne Slot explains why he substituted Alexis Mac Allister as injury update offered
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Arne Slot certainly showed his ruthless side as Liverpool were forced into making some changes.
The Reds edged past Burnley 1-0 courtesy of a 95th minute Mohamed Salah penalty, meaning they scored late on for the fourth game in a row.
They are the only side to take maximum points from the first four games, although their overall performances might be a little concerning.
Another worry will be the fitness of midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, with the Argentine forced off at half-time after feeling the effects of a late challenge from Lesley Ugochukwu.
The Argentine has struggled throughout the summer and the beginning of the new campaign with injuries, hence why Liverpool fans are rather concerned.
And now, Slot has offered an update on the 26-year-old, as well as explaining why he took him off when he did.
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
Slot is known to be ruthless behind closed doors, but during the game against Burnley, he made the bold choice to take off Milos Kerkez in the first half as he was already on a yellow.
And, all Premier League sides get just three windows throughout the game to make their five substitutes, meaning that he had to use one of these for the Hungarian.
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So, instead of taking Mac Allister off on the hour mark like he had planned, Slot revealed that he did it at half time so he could make more changes later on in the game if needed.
“It is similar to Alex [Isak] but in a completely different way.
He missed a lot of pre-season, so he is ready for one game a week, maybe [for] 70 to 90.
He played 90 for Argentina and he was really tired after 70,’ Slot said as per Liverpoolfc.com.
“He doesn’t have the right build-up towards playing three games a week for 90 minutes, so it was always sure today that I would take him off after 60 minutes for him to be able to be back on the pitch again on Wednesday and for him to be on Saturday back on the pitch again.
“I had already made one substitution in the first half, so if I then take him off at 60 minutes that would be my second one.
If I then want to make [another on] 75 then in end I can do nothing anymore.
READ MORE: Arne Slot made one decision vs Burnley that proved he should have put Alexander Isak in the squad
“He said it was fine and good enough to go on, although he limped a lot, so that was more his mentality I think than it was he could actually perform at his best for 15 minutes longer.”
He concluded by saying: “So, the combination of him being injured and me not wanting to lose the second substitution after 60 minutes led to it – and us not playing so well, by the way.
So, a lot of arguments and [it was] partly tactical.”
September is where things start to heat up for Liverpool as they will regularly play twice a week due to their participation in the Champions League.
They have five more games in just 17 days, showing just how packed their schedule really is.
So, with that said, Mac Allister more than most will need to have his minutes managed carefully to ensure that no more injuries come his way.
The Reds’ next game is on Wednesday against Atletico Madrid, a match that could come too soon for ‘Macca’ depending on how well he recovers in the coming days.