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Alexis Mac Allister is the first Liverpool player to reach the final of this year’s Copa America, with one of the club’s internationals now guaranteed to win it.
Just like the Euros, Copa America is into its final week, with the semi-finals of the tournament taking place in the United States in midweek.
Tuesday night saw Argentina face Canada in the first of those deciders, with Mac Allister starting as a left-sided No. 8 after operating deeper earlier in the tournament.
Up against the tournament’s surprise package, Argentina will have known it would be a difficult game than it perhaps seemed on paper.
But they took the lead within 23 minutes, with Julian Alvarez firing in after a brilliant through ball from Rodrigo De Paul.
Lionel Messi then sealed the victory before the hour, diverting Enzo Fernandez’s goal-bound shot past Maxime Crepeau to seal a place in the final of Copa America, winning 2-0.
Mac Allister played 78 minutes before being replaced by Exequiel Palacios, having been more peripheral than usual, completing 15 of only 17 attempted passes (88%) and creating one chance, per FotMob.
How the media rated Mac Allister
Ole awarded him a 7 out of 10, with journalist Hernan Claus explaining: “Without shining, he was a key piece in the progress of the game.”
ESPN‘s Luis Miguel Echegaray agreed with a 7 out of 10, with “not many issues” in Mac Allister’s game, but with his role “more involved in helping cover ground when Messi couldn’t.”
Writing for GOAL, Thomas Hindle gave the Liverpool midfielder a 6 out of 10, arguing that he was “not on the ball loads, but did everything right when he had it.”
Argentine outlet TyC Sports also gave Mac Allister a 6 out of 10, with Gaston Recondo writing that he “played as an inside forward to win the arrival in the area but he did not find the space to surprise.”
Guaranteed Copa winner
With Argentina’s progress to the final, it is now guaranteed that one Liverpool player will be lifting the trophy in Miami on Sunday night.
Lionel Scaloni’s side have ensured their spot in the final, with Colombia and Uruguay set to meet in the other semi-final on Wednesday evening.
That will pit Luis Diaz up against Darwin Nunez, with only one of those able to join Mac Allister in the showpiece clash at the Hard Rock Arena.
Argentina were favourites heading into the tournament and remain so, with second-favourites Brazil knocked out of the quarter-finals by third-favourites Uruguay.
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