Liverpool player on wrong end of horror challenge as his teammate calls perpetrator an ‘idiot’

Liverpool fans may have been wincing at the sight of one Reds player crashing to the turf after he was on the wrong end of a horrendous challenge in international action on Tuesday night.

Alexis Mac Allister went into Argentina’s double header in October off the back of a groin injury but still played that month, and he came through all but the few minutes of second half stoppage time in their overnight win against Peru, despite a scare for LFC supporters in the closing stages in Buenos Aires.

Liverpool given Mac Allister scare v Peru

The world champions were 1-0 to the good in the 88th minute when Liverpool’s number 10 was brought to ground by Peruvian centre-back Carlos Zambrano, who was bookd by referee Wilmar Roldan.

A subsequent replay (via TyC Sports) showed that the colour of the card ought to have been different as Mac Allister was caught late and high with studs showing, and the 25-year-old could count himself fortunate not to have suffered an injury.

Earlier in the mach, the Peru defender had infuriated Lionel Messi when, following a collision between the two, the former Barcelona legend screamed at his opponent: “What are you doing, idiot?” (via TyC Sports).

Will Mac Allister start for Liverpool on Sunday?

Thankfully for Arne Slot and Liverpool fans, Mac Allister didn’t appear to be badly hurt by Zambrano’s cowardly challenge, and it looks as though the ex-Brighton midfielder will return to Merseyside in the coming days with no adverse effects from Argentina’s latest double header in 2026 World Cup qualifying.

With yet another transatlantic journey to make and Liverpool facing into a relentless fixture schedule for the rest of the calendar year, it’s not unthinkable that our number 10 might be omitted from the starting XI against Southampton on Sunday in order to manage his workload.

Also, with the 25-year-old on four yellow cards in the Premier League this season, another at St Mary’s would force him to miss the huge showdown against Manchester City a week later due to suspension, something which might also come into the head coach’s thinking.

For now, let’s just hope Mac Allister returns to club duty without any injury complications arising from his international involvement.

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