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Liverpool’s Search for Rhythm and the Return of Alexis Mac Allister

A Squad Still Taking Shape

After seven Premier League games and a solitary point separating Liverpool from leaders Arsenal, it isn’t the table that should cause concern — it’s the manner of the performances. Arne Slot’s side looks caught between phases, neither the relentless unit that dominated under Jürgen Klopp nor the controlled, rhythm-based team the Dutchman envisions. There’s talent everywhere, but fluency is nowhere to be found.

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Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure continues to cast a long shadow. His ability to dictate from deep, to launch counterattacks with a single pass, and to manipulate opposition blocks made Liverpool’s structure coherent. Without him, the progression from the back has faltered. Ibrahima Konaté, once seen as the next great defensive anchor, looks distracted — his dwindling contract and links to Real Madrid perhaps clouding his focus. When the centre-back hesitates, the entire right-sided structure breaks down, leaving the Reds short of both rhythm and reassurance.

Further upfield, the attack is still learning its own language. Hugo Ekitike, Alexander Isak, and Florian Wirtz are all highly gifted, yet understanding takes time — and the once-automatic connection with Mohamed Salah remains missing. At fullback, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong are adapting to a ball-dominant team, one that requires more precision and patience than their former systems. It’s a process, but one that’s beginning to look disjointed without a central conductor to pull it together.

The Mac Allister Catalyst

That’s where Alexis Mac Allister becomes so crucial. His international performances for Argentina this past week offered a glimpse of what Liverpool has been missing: control, intelligence, and the quiet authority to make football flow. The 25-year-old has endured a disrupted start to the season — a fractured pre-season, a new tactical setup, and teammates still learning Slot’s automatisms. Yet, even through those struggles, his class has always been visible.

Mac Allister isn’t simply another midfielder — he’s Liverpool’s metronome. When he plays with confidence, the entire side breathes differently. His spatial awareness and ability to dictate tempo from deep give the team structure, a base upon which the more expressive elements — Wirtz’s creativity, Szoboszlai’s drive, Salah’s final-third instinct — can build. Without him, Liverpool has looked like a collection of soloists; with him, they can become an orchestra again.

If Slot can position Mac Allister at the heart of the build-up, giving him freedom to dictate rather than restrict him to a holding role, the Argentine could unlock both the fullbacks and forwards. He sees the passes that others hesitate over, he simplifies chaos, and crucially, he brings calm to a team that has too often looked anxious in possession. Someone needs to stand up and take the reins of this team and it may just be the glorious World Cup winner.

A Return to Rhythm

As Manchester United visit Anfield on Sunday, October 19th, Liverpool’s challenge isn’t just about winning — it’s about rediscovering a lost identity. This is still a team in transition, learning to function without its former leaders and adjusting to new dynamics across every line. Yet, within that process, Mac Allister feels like the missing link — the bridge between control and creativity, between what Slot wants and what Liverpool have been.

If his international form carries into domestic duty, he could well become the catalyst for a return to rhythm. For all the talk of systems and evolution, sometimes it just takes one player to remind everyone else how to play the Liverpool way.

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