Sharing with LFCTV, Jurgen Klopp pointed out the specialness of the top-class star in Liverpool.

Summer signing Mac Allister was deployed in a deeper role as Klopp’s side beat Darmstadt in their final pre-season game before the Premier League kicks off this weekend.

Liverpool’s midfield attracted a lot of the criticism during what was a difficult campaign last time out and has since been rebuilt.

While all of Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Naby Keita, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Naby Keita have left, the Argentina international and Dominik Szoboszlai have arrived.

Szoboszlai and Mac Allister both bring something fresh, but neither is a known defensive midfielder.

When asked about the Argentine’s performance at Deepdale, on LFCTV, Jurgen Klopp praised the rookie:

“He’s a top class player… in a compact formation Alexis can play there (defensive midfield) definitely.

“We had a few moments when we were a little too open, obviously we have to work and the whole team will do it.”

“Now he showed just how good a footballer he is and how good he understood the game because he played here now [for] the first time for us at least and he did really well.”

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With Fabinho and Jordan Henderson gone, Allister will probably be ranked lower in the midfield by Klopp. For the past few games, Curtis Jones has filled that position, but prior to facing Darmstadt, he suffered another injury.

Although Thiago and Stefan Bajeti are members of the Reds, neither appears to be playing versus the Blues after missing the entirety of preseason due to injuries that caused their 2022–23 seasons to be cut short.