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Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister has confessed that "something wasn't right" during Arne Slot's tenure at Anfield and praised the Dutchman's managerial successor, Andoni Iraola, for fixing the problem.
Slot could hardly have asked for a more impressive debut campaign on Merseyside. The composed and low-key former Feyenoord manager stepped into the shoes left by Jürgen Klopp's exit and immediately replicated his Premier League title success, steering Liverpool to only their second league championship in 35 years.
However, the positive momentum would not endure. A promising run of results at the start of the 2025–26 season concealed some deep-rooted problems, all of which were closely tied to the heartbreaking death of forward Diogo Jota the previous summer. Liverpool would tumble into a historic slump, enduring their worst stretch of results since the post-World War II rationing era in the U.K.
Despite consistently insisting his job was secure, Liverpool stunned many by dismissing Slot after he secured Champions League qualification. Iraola, who finished just one spot behind the Reds with a Bournemouth squad assembled on a considerably smaller budget, was swiftly appointed as his replacement.
There have been some early growing pains under the new manager: After emphasizing control, there has been a noticeable shift toward the high-energy pressing style that Iraola is known for. Progress hasn't been entirely linear, but the overall trajectory remains encouraging.
"Something wasn't right in the group and this manager changed it," Mac Allister told Amazon Prime after netting twice in Tuesday's 4–3 Champions League win over Villarreal. "The way we play is different, I don't like to compare," he added, while effectively making a pointed comparison in the same breath.
Alexis Mac Allister Unpicks Liverpool's Tactical Transformation
"When I came here, the owners told me everything is not perfect," Iraola acknowledged. The primary concern was defensive: Liverpool's total of 53 Premier League goals conceded represented their worst defensive record in the competition since 1993–94.
Iraola's solution to that problem has been a complete overhaul of Liverpool's playing style. Rather than organizing his players in a rigid formation tasked with protecting specific zones of the pitch, the Reds now press individual opponents in a man-to-man defensive system.
"Now it's more man-to-man," Mac Allister explained. "You have to communicate less. Last year, it was more like a zonal thing. I like both. In the national team, we do zonal and it works. It's about us taking the responsibility. It's one of the changes. Now it's easier, you think less but run more."
This transition from zonal to man-to-man marking is a growing trend across European football. PSG employed it to claim back-to-back Champions League titles, betting on their individual superiority over opponents. Iraola demonstrated at Bournemouth that elite individual quality isn't the sole ingredient for making this system succeed, though having players of Mac Allister's level certainly provides an advantage.
The admiration runs both ways. "From the first day, I started seeing something," Mac Allister said of Iraola. "He's a nice guy, and the coaching staff is too. We are going in the right direction but we need to work and put in everything. Hopefully, we can win some trophies."