Arne Slot has confirmed that Alexis Mac Allister will miss Liverpool’s final game of the season with Crystal Palace at Anfield on Sunday, saying the Argentina international needs rest to be fit for next season.
The former Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder missed the game entirely as the Reds were beaten 3-2 at the Amex Stadium on Monday night and Slot said Mac Allister has a minor injury that means he will sit out the game before the Premier League trophy is lifted in front of 60,000 fans this weekend.
“Alexis will not play for us this season again,” Slot confirmed. “He needs rest at this moment of time to recover completely and be ready for next season. It’ll be no problem for him.
“He played throughout the last part of the season with the Argentine quality he has, never gives up, no matter how he feels. But it’s not so smart to play a player that has not a big injury but has something to take a risk with.”
Slot also explained how he is attempting to encourage Dominik Szoboszlai to shoot more often after the Hungary captain struck a superb effort to make it 2-1 shortly before half time on the south coast.
After combining with Harvey Elliott to take a short free-kick, Szoboszlai smashed one past Bart Verbruggen from a the edge of the area and Slot said he wants to see more shooting-on-sight from his No.8.
Slot added: “What I liked a lot is we mostly have a certain routine in our set pieces but we tried to tell them if they see something else then try to try to execute it and feel free to execute it if you feel there is another opportunity.
“I think Harvey and Dom felt there was a two-versus-one in that free-kick and they played that. I definitely feel Dom meant to shoot that ball on target because he has a great shot. He needs to use it more, use it more, use it more – because in training sessions he can score from every angle.”
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