Liverpool Boost as Alexis Mac Allister Returns for Como Friendlies
Pre-season can feel like a slog. Heat, hard yards, split squads, minutes in the legs, and a manager trying to build rhythm while players drift back in waves. For Liverpool, Sunday brings another step in that process, and Andoni Iraola has been given a timely lift before the double header against Como.
The Reds face the Italian side twice in one day, first behind closed doors at the AXA Training Centre, then later at Anfield in front of supporters. The expectation is that the stronger side will be saved for the evening, and that gives the occasion a bit more edge, a bit more meaning, with Newcastle waiting when the serious business begins.
IMAGO | Anfield Index
Mac Allister return boosts Liverpool
The headline is Alexis Mac Allister. The Argentina midfielder has finally reported back after his post-World Cup break, and Iraola made clear just how important that is. In his programme notes, the Liverpool head coach said: “With Alexis Mac Allister having returned to the AXA Training Centre on Monday, we now have all of our players back after the World Cup, which is of course hugely beneficial.”
That is the sort of sentence managers do not waste. It tells you plenty. Iraola has spent the early weeks of his reign working around absences, waiting for key men to filter back in. Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak joined up during the US tour, Mac Allister arrived later, and that has limited the amount of time available to mould the first-choice group together.
There is no panic in that, but there is inconvenience. A new manager wants repetition, wants shape, wants familiarity. He wants to drill ideas until they become instinct. International tournaments and staggered holidays rarely allow that luxury.
Como friendlies offer Iraola chance
Sunday now offers a proper opportunity. Mac Allister’s availability strengthens the midfield options, while Ronald Araujo’s loan arrival gives Liverpool another body and another layer of experience at the back. There is also the possibility that supporters may get a first look at Jeremy Jacquet if he is passed fit in time.
Not everyone is available. Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni remain sidelined, while Joe Gomez is also absent after the setback suffered against Sunderland. So this is not full strength in the purest sense, but it is closer to it, and that matters.
Liverpool pre-season focus remains simple
The temptation is always to chase statements in friendlies, to demand sharpness and sparkle before the curtain rises. The truth is simpler. Liverpool need fitness, cohesion and a clean bill of health more than they need bragging rights from two summer fixtures against Como.
If Iraola gets useful minutes into Mac Allister, sees Araujo bed in smoothly, and comes through the day without another injury worry, he will have what he needs. In pre-season, that counts as a very good day’s work.