Arne Slot made no effort to hide his irritation with Alexis Mac Allister after the Argentine went to ground inside the Liverpool penalty area.
The Liverpool manager was seen gesturing at his captain to get back on his feet after Mac Allister crumpled following a minimal brush with Ezri Konsa during a corner. Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher was equally unimpressed in the commentary box.
Mac Allister draws the ire of Slot and Carragher
Slot’s annoyance was entirely understandable. Liverpool were already trailing and still had every reason to keep pushing for something at Villa Park — every wasted second counted.
Carragher made no attempt to sugarcoat his feelings on air, saying the incident was mortifying and that there was no excuse for staying down after such minimal contact. He added that Mac Allister should have known better, given that television replays would expose exactly what had and hadn’t happened with Konsa.
One could perhaps forgive a touch of gamesmanship deep in Villa’s territory, but to burn precious time while Liverpool desperately needed to push forward and level the score was, quite simply, indefensible.
That Villa went on to make it 3-1 after VAR cleared Konsa of any wrongdoing felt like an entirely fitting outcome. It was the natural consequence of yet another gutless Liverpool display.
To compound matters, Mac Allister — decent enough in the opening 45 minutes — once again faded into irrelevance as the game wore on, continuing a pattern that has become all too familiar this season.
