Mac Allister thunderbolt sends Reds top again
Liverpool 3 Sheffield United 1, 4th April 2024.
LIVERPOOL 3 (Núñez 17, Mac Allister 76, Gakpo 90)
SHEFFIELD UNITED 1 (Bradley (own goal) 58)
For 75 minutes on Thursday evening and within that storied footballing amphitheatre otherwise known as heaven, Liverpool were below par, struggling to break down an obdurate Sheffield United rear guard and on course for a Premier League point rather more valuable in their visitors fight for survival than the Reds aspirations and desires to be crowned Champions of England for a 20th time. They needed a thunderbolt from the footballing Gods and Alexis Mac Allister “miss hit” a guided missile into the very top corner of the Kop End goal that three goalkeepers wouldn’t have saved. Jürgen Klopp’s brilliant post-match joke aside, it was a thing of wondrous beauty and had there been three goalkeepers in the Sheffield United goal on Thursday evening, each one would have swiftly taken a cigar from the back pocket of their shorts, lit it with pure carefree abandon and watched the Argentinian’s missile fly into areas goalkeepers cannot reach. I rarely if ever celebrate a goal now. It’s an age thing as well as the soul sucking, spirit crushing intervention of VAR into OUR game, but fuck was this worth celebrating!
1–1 with 15 minutes to go and a quarter of an hour away from dropping 2 precious Premier League points, to Cody Gakpo sealing all 3 on 90 minutes and the Mighty Reds of Liverpool sitting proudly once more atop the highest perch in English football. It wasn’t just a fanciful description of a thunderbolt or a missile, or a fortunate ricochet from a loose ball inside the Sheffield United penalty area that rolled perfectly into the path of the Reds midfield linchpin and man in form. It wasn’t just the pure strike with just a dash of “cut” on the ball that saw it fly past Ivo Grbić and his two imaginary goalkeeping friends beside him. It wasn’t even the roar, the guttural roar that greeted Mac Allister’s goal or the Argentinian himself, roaring at the Kop End in delight, or even that of his madcap Uruguayan mate Darwin Núñez, screaming with joy at the Kopites in the front row of a storied terrace and now seated stand that has seen its fair share of important goals down many a trophy laden year. Núñez and Mac Allister shared an imaginary cup of tea in quiet celebration after the more raucous of the celebrations had quietened down.
And why not?
This was a BIG goal in every sense. Mighty important too, and the Reds of Liverpool were back on top of the Premier League once more.
That’s worth celebrating surely?
"Chasing the Impossible and a Sword of Damocles"
Another person who celebrated this unreal piece of sporting theatre was Reds boss Jürgen Klopp, a manic array of hugs, high fives, one or two low fives too before, as is his beautiful way, a fierce beating of the chest upon his heart. His footballing heart. A heart as big as the city that not only adopted him but claimed him as one of their own before bestowing the freedom of a city he’ll be much missed in when he departs in the Summer.
Mac Allister’s goal on Thursday reminded me of Graeme Souness’ penalty in Rome in 1984 and if you’ll allow me the literary licence to mix a goal from free play with a penalty kick, then they were both simply unstoppable and without an inch spare smack into the top corner of the net.
My goodness what a goal.
It’s Saturday evening and 48 hours on, and I think I need to go and lie down again.
My goodness what a goal.
A final word from The Boss
“As a manager, you have to take it like you get it. I would prefer to be 5–0 up at that moment already but that’s tricky. We scored one of my favourite goals ever, 1–0, because I think from time to time a striker needs that kind of thing. I ask him quite a lot to press the opponent and it’s quite rare that you get really close enough to have this kind of block, but he did and then scores, 1–0. That’s great. And then these kind of games are difficult. Low block, obviously learning that their set-pieces are really difficult after 20 seconds when they could have been 1–0 up, which would have been really funny again, and then in the next corner again the ball goes through and there is nobody at the far post — thank God, otherwise that would have been again a big chance. Then obviously we controlled the game but there are different ways to control a football game and the way we controlled it today was not the right one with not enough creating”.
“OK, we needed then Macca’s wonder goal obviously to turn it properly around, but the third goal was exactly like it should have been before already, these kind of moments — Robbo full speed, wonderful cross, sensational header and then we won the game”.
“In the end, all good. I don’t know when we face next time a similar challenge, probably all the other games are now different, especially the next one. But super-positive the boys on, Curtis back, Robbo trained now three days or so, really helpful, Harvey . Cody, not out but a really good game, which he needed as well. Really pleased and that helps obviously. Nobody got injured already as far as I know today, so recovery started already and now we recover and go again”.