Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher criticised the ’embarrassing’ actions of one Liverpool player in his team’s defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.
There were a few flashpoints from the game at Anfield, including one in the first half where the officials somehow failed to award the Reds a penalty for a blatant shirt pull by Jurrien Timber on Alexander Isak inside the box.
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Later in the match, a flashpoint between a few players saw Noni Madueke make contact with the head of Alexis Mac Allister, who dropped to the ground dramatically clutching his face.
Speaking on co-commentary for Sky Sports, Neville was far from impressed with the Liverpool midfielder’s antics.
He raged: “Mac Allister’s reaction is a bit over the top, I can tell you that. Get up. Embarrassing. It’s Mac Allister’s fault because he slaps [Martin] Odegaard when he’s down, which is unnecessary. Well done to VAR because they’re recognised that Mac Allister going down is embarrassing.”
(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
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Carragher also called out the Argentine as he said: “I want Liverpool to win the game, but I’m delighted [Madueke] didn’t get sent off. We have really got to be calling people out and saying, ‘This is embarrassing’. It’s ridiculous and it’s got to stop. I can’t stand it.
“If someone puts their head back and butts, then [it’s a] red card; but if it’s head-to-head and they touch, the other one goes down and the player gets sent off – as a game, call your own people out on it. It’s a joke from Mac Allister.
“People are trying to gain an advantage because they can and red cards are being given for it. Whether it’s Howard Webb, the Premier League, the managers getting together, this has got to stop.”
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While Madueke took a substantial risk by butting heads with Mac Allister when already on a yellow card, we have to agree with the pundits that the Liverpool midfielder’s reaction was completely unwarranted and shameful.
If the Arsenal winger had headbutted the Argentine with force, then we’d understand if our number 10 went to ground in distress. However, he ought to be a tad embarrassed when he watches back this incident.
We criticised Malo Gusto for his melodramatics after a minor altercation with Virgil van Dijk last week, so it’s only right that we do the same with Mac Allister for an equally cringeworthy bout of amateur theatrics.
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Regrettably, his antics in that moment have detracted from what was a terrific performance overall from the 27-year-old, who Liverpool Echo reporter Ian Doyle lauded as ‘easily Liverpool’s best player’ on the day.
We’d implore the midfielder to learn from that indiscretion and abstain from it in the future, and we also hope that Andoni Iraola has a quiet word with the player to reprimand him over those unwelcome actions.
