Without a New Contract, He Responded to Liverpool with a Last-Minute Winner

Without a new contract, he delivered a last-minute winner first. Mac Allister scored the decisive goal in Liverpool's 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid, and before the match he had just spoken publicly about the renewal situation.

At the pre-match press conference, Mac Allister turned the topic toward himself: throughout the summer, the club had not offered him a new contract. He then let his feet do the talking — a brilliant winning goal that helped the team secure a 2-1 victory. The Argentina international repeatedly stressed during media duties that he loves the club, and that emotion was also shown in his goal celebration as he ran toward the Kop stand.

Three starts, one position

This was Mac Allister's third consecutive start under new head coach Iraola — in the first Premier League match against Newcastle, he was a substitute. This was at least partly because his return was delayed after an extended World Cup campaign, causing him to miss pre-season preparations.

He has played well in all three matches. His position has been the deepest role in Iraola's midfield system, bringing better balance to the team. Of course, because he lacked pre-season preparation and because the position itself is demanding, he has shown signs of declining fitness in the second half of matches, but in every game his performances before the 60th minute have been encouraging.

However, this does not mean Liverpool were wrong in their stance on the contract issue during the summer, nor does it mean they should immediately knock on Mac Allister's door tomorrow with an offer.

The contract drama at Anfield

Contract situations are nothing new at Anfield, especially in recent years. Van Dijk, Salah, Alexander-Arnold and Konate have all had highly discussed situations of this kind. Just when people thought the matter would settle temporarily until the situations of Van Dijk and Alisson Becker became more prominent — with both contracts expiring at the end of this season — it returned to the spotlight.

Mac Allister confirmed that he had an option to leave during the most recent transfer window. He told reporters that the club was “not in a position” to offer him a new contract, and that he was “very sad” about it. This came in the context of his midfield partners Gravenberch and Szoboszlai signing new contracts in March and July respectively. All three played important roles in Liverpool's 2024-25 title-winning season, so it is unsurprising that Mac Allister would feel hurt seeing the other two rewarded while he was not.

But the context is important. Liverpool's reluctance to offer the midfielder a new contract after the end of last season was understandable. Mac Allister was far from the only player whose on-field level dropped; Gravenberch was also among those who did not reach his usual standards. However, Mac Allister's decline was in a more significant and concerning category. Some compared him with former Liverpool midfielder Fabinho, whose performance in the 2022-23 season was a major contrast to his peak years.

Multiple factors played a role. Like his teammates, the midfielder has been dealing with the impact of Diogo Jota's death. Mac Allister and South America……