Argentina’s Copa America opener saw Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister risk injury by putting his body in danger. 

After a wait for Lionel Messi’s pass, Mac Allister outwitted Canada custodian Maxime Crepeau and poked the ball to Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez, who scored the game’s first goal into an empty net. Before the custodian pulled him out, Mac Allister stretched to grasp the ball and made contact with his toe. He remained on the ground.

The players rushed to him to join in the celebration, appreciating his contribution to the goal’s creation, but Mac Allister’s recovery took some time, thus the resumption was postponed. After 88 minutes, Lautaro Martinez scored the game’s second goal to give Argentina a 2-0 victory over Canada. The midfielder was able to finish the match. 

Mac Allister was a member of the Argentina team that won the 2022 World Cup, but he hadn’t quite established himself yet, thus he wasn’t awarded a Copa America medal in the 2021 victory. The midfielder from Liverpool has grown to be an important part of Lionel Scaloni’s squad and has really gained Messi’s admiration.

When it comes to being chosen for important competitions, Mac Allister had to wait patiently after making his debut on the international scene in 2019. When Messi and Argentina finally won an international championship at Copa America 2021, after years of suffering, he was left out. 

with the age of seventeen, Mac Allister made a breakthrough with Argentinos Juniors in 2016, which led to a move to Brighton three years later. The midfielder was later targeted by Liverpool, but he soon established himself as one of Brighton’s greatest players and a top-tier Premier League standout. 

Mac Allister’s finest football season was 2022–2023, as he first helped Argentina win the World Cup and then scored ten goals for Brighton in the Premier League. After reaching their breaking point, Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool not only spent $45 million on the midfield player, but also gave him the No. 10 shirt that Sadio Mane had previously worn at Anfield. 

Since joining Liverpool, Mac Allister has reached new heights and established himself as a global household brand. Although he has gained more respect since joining the Reds, Messi has always valued him because he stood up for him when he was playing for his country.

Mac Allister shares a close bond with Lionel Messi since becoming an Argentina starter. (Image: FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

In early 2022, Mac Allister was called up by Argentina to the national team after a three-year break following his debut on the international scene. Messi swiftly put an end to the jeers from his teammates who made fun of him for having fair hair and sided with Mac Allister.

“I remember everyone called me ‘Colo’, which is ginger in Argentina,” Mac Allister told The Athletic. “I don’t like it much and he (Messi) told the teammates that. He said, ‘He doesn’t like to be called Colo, so don’t call him that!'”

In just one season, Mac Allister has not only established himself as a vital member of the Liverpool team, but he has also gained the utmost respect inside the Argentina team’s locker room. Having previously won a medal at the World Cup, Mac Allister will be looking to return to Anfield this summer with a Copa America victory.