When Brazil and Argentina meet it’s always a fiery affair but this spilled over to the stands and Alexis Mac Allister was involved at full-time.

It appeared that the police were attacking the Argentine supporters in the stands and understandably the players wanted to protect them.

READ MORE: (Video) Darwin Nunez scores twice for Uruguay as fine form continues

Our No.10 was in the thick of the action, moving the metal barriers and trying to get onto the seats where the violence was taking place.

It was certainly a worrying time for all involved and we can only hope that everyone got away unscathed.

You can watch the scenes between the Argentine players and those in the stands via @TyCSports on X:

Unsavoury scenes in Brazil as Mac Allister and the rest of the Argentina players try to stop fighting between supporters and police in the stands #LFC pic.twitter.com/HAaw9Xrc4t

— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) November 22, 2023

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Alexis Mac Allister was once again given the opportunity to star for his nation, as he was handed a start in midfield for Argentina and one moment in particular caught the eye.

Our No.10 was found with a well delivered corner and he attempted to unleash a shot on goal but as bad as this effort was, the 24-year-old soon made up for it.

READ MORE: (Video) Darwin Nunez scores on international duty in clash against Luis Diaz’s Colombia

The former Brighton man pirouetted his way around five on-rushing defenders and managed to wriggle his way into the box, where he was very unfortunate to not be awarded a penalty.

This shows the confidence that our midfielder is playing with and perhaps the impact he can have if he’s allowed to feature in the attacking areas a little more often.

You can watch the skill from Mac Allister via @vanalfc on X:

macaa‍ pic.twitter.com/xpVJQtCKTX

— ✪ (@vanalfc) October 12, 2023

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Alexis Mac Allister’s international colleague Cristian Romero has paid the Liverpool midfielder quite a lofty compliment.

The Tottenham defender was asked to name his top five Argentine Premier League players of all time in a piece for Prime Video Sport on TikTok.

He took some artistic licence by naming Ossie Ardiles – who managed Spurs in the division in the 1990s but played in the English top flight prior to its rebranding 31 years ago – in fifth, followed by five-time title winner Sergio Aguero in fourth.

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Then came Mac Allister in third place, with his World Cup-winning compatriots Enzo Fernandez in second and Lisandro Martinez – dubbed ‘by far the best defender in the world’ by Romero – top of the pile.

There are certainly some surprising selections and rankings in that top five, but the Liverpool midfielder’s inclusion shows how highly he’s rated by a fellow world champion.

You can view Romero’s list below, via Prime Video Sport on TikTok:

@primevideosport What do you make of Cristian Romero’s picks? #premierleage #sports #football #spurs ♬ original sound – Prime Video Sport

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Alexis Mac Allister surprised the internet when he was pictured using oxygen to prepare for Argentina’s trip to Bolivia but it seems to have worked, if his highlights are anything to go by.

Starting the match and playing 85 minutes, our No.10 was the personification of cool, calm and collected, as he dictated the play from the middle of the park for the victorious Argentinians.

READ MORE: (Video) Diaz explains why every Colombian loves him playing for Liverpool

One moment will certainly catch the eye of our supporters, as the 24-year-old managed to both tackle and turn an on-rushing midfielder which resulted in some beautiful skill and a free-kick for his side.

Jurgen Klopp will be delighted to see the performance level of the former Brighton man and let’s hope he’s ready to jump right back into Premier League action this weekend.

You can watch Mac Allister’s turn (from 1:27) and full highlights for Argentina via 1947extra on X:

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Liverpool fans tend to dread international breaks as it often seems to end in some form of injury heartache and the latest images of Alexis Mac Allister won’t do much to settle the nerves.

Taking to his Instagram stories, the Argentine uploaded a picture of what appeared to show him using oxygen ahead of their next match against Bolivia.

READ MORE: (Image) Virgil van Dijk replicates Tsimikas gesture with fellow Liverpool teammate

The South American nation’s home stadium in La Paz is one of the highest altitude grounds in world football and so the use of breathing apparatus from the World Cup winner is somewhat understandable.

Let’s hope that it’s not a sign of any health concern of the midfielder and that he can return to Anfield soon, ready to jump back into life in the Premier League.

You can view the image of Mac Allister via alemacallister on Instagram:

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One perfectly-timed image from the opening round of South America’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers on Thursday night is doing the rounds on social media and is set to leave Liverpool fans grinning from ear to ear.

The Reds kicked off their summer transfer activity by signing Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton for an initial £35m in June and had a deal agreed for his former Seagulls teammate Moises Caicedo two months later (BBC Sport).

However, the latter instead chose to join Chelsea in an eye-watering £115m move (The Athletic) in what felt like a hammer blow for the Merseysiders at the time, but his difficult start to life at Stamford Bridge has already raised questions over the fee paid for him.

The one-time clubmates were in opposition to each other overnight as, nine months on from winning the 2022 World Cup, Argentina kicked off their bid to reach the 2026 finals with a 1-0 win over Ecuador.

During the game, in an image shared by ESPN UK on social media, Mac Allister left Caicedo grounded, with the Blues midfielder vainly attempting to stop the Liverpool man by grabbing hold of his shirt.

Of course it’s far too simplistic to use one photograph to judge the players’ respective performances, but Sofascore ratings of 7.4 for Mac Allister and 6.2 for the 21-year-old illustrate which of the two had more of an impact on the game.

Despite the Argentina playing for slightly fewer minutes than the Ecuadorian, he completed far more passes (65 v 19), took far more touches (85 v 49) and won more tackles (three v one) than the Chelsea man.

It’s no wonder Liverpool fans will feel they got the far better deal from Brighton this summer in comparison to the west Londoners.

You can see the image of Mac Allister and Caicedo below, via @ESPNUK on Twitter/X:

Moises Caicedo coming up against Alexis Mac Allister during World Cup qualifiers pic.twitter.com/AT5QXzWbbC

— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) September 8, 2023

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Liverpool look set to complete the signing of Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton, with Fabrizio Romano tweeting on Wednesday morning that the Reds have ‘triggered the clause’ to sign the 24-year-old for a reported £35m.

Assuming there are no last-minute plot twists to scupper the transfer, the 2022 World Cup winner will become the seventh player from Argentina to represent the Merseyside club (as per lfchistory.net).

The other six have all been at Anfield between 2005 and 2012, so the Seagulls player looks set to ensure a long-overdue vested interest from South America’s second biggest country.

Here’s a look at how his former Liverpool compatriots have fared for the club, listed in chronological order of them signing for the Reds:

Mauricio Pellegrino

The defender was a member of the great Valencia side which won two LaLiga titles and reached two Champions League finals in the first half of the 2000s, but by the time he reunited with his former boss Rafael Benitez at Liverpool in January 2005, the then 33-year-old was past his prime.

He stayed at Anfield for just four months, making 13 appearances (coming in at just under 1,000 minutes, as per Transfermarkt) but not playing any part in the road to eventual European glory in Istanbul as he wasn’t in the Champions League squad.

A massive fan of The Beatles, Pellegrino returned to Merseyside in 2008 as a coach under Benitez and stayed for two years until the Spaniard’s departure.

Gabriel Paletta

Although the defender was never capped by Argentina at senior level and instead went on to represent Italy, he was born in the South American country and had won an underage World Cup for his homeland at the time that he came to Liverpool in July 2006, so we’ll count him for this list.

He went from Banfield to Anfield that year but made little impression on Merseyside, featuring just eight times for the Reds. Three of those were in the League Cup, although he did score in a 4-3 win over Reading in that competition, along with getting two assists in the crazy 6-3 defeat to Arsenal when Julio Baptista ran riot (Transfermarkt).

He was back in Argentina after only one year for us, joining Boca Juniors in 2007. Now 37, he helped Monza to achieve promotion to Serie A last year but injury precluded him from representing the club in the top flight.

Emiliano Insua

Liverpool continued to pluck Argentine defenders with the initial loan signing of Insua from Boca Juniors in January 2007 before a permanent move later that year as part of the deal which saw Paletta go in the opposite direction.

Unlike his two previous compatriots at Anfield, the left-back stayed with the Reds for more than a single season, racking up three-and-a-half years altogether. He was a bit-part player for the first two of those before the misfortunes of others saw him feature more regularly during the 2008/09 Premier League title challenge.

By the following season he was our first-choice left-back, but was often subjected to criticism from fans and media and was allowed to join Galatasaray on a season-long loan in August 2010 (making way due to the arrival of Paul Konchesky!). A year later, he was sold to Sporting Lisbon after the signing of Jose Enrique from Newcastle.

Javier Mascherano

After a bit of a legal wrangle with FIFA, Liverpool signed Mascherano from West Ham at the end of the January 2007 transfer window, and he’d go on to prove worthy of the hassle to get him.

Tigerish in the tackle and composed on the ball, he was arguably our best player in the Champions League final defeat to AC Milan and was the near-constant anchor of Benitez’s midfield for another three years, going on to play 139 times for the Reds before joining Barcelona in August 2010, having scored in a Merseyside derby win in his final season with us (although it was later credited as an own goal).

He was occasionally culpable of rash moments of indiscipline, most notoriously when he talked himself into being sent off at Old Trafford in 2008, but has gone down as a midfielder of class in his time at Anfield.

Sebastian Leto

A £1.8m signing from Lanus in Argentina in August 2007, the winger was unable to play in the Premier League due to problems with his passport, finding himself restricted to just four senior appearances in what would prove to be his one and only season with Liverpool (Transfermarkt).

Incredibly, 75% of his Reds appearances came against teams located outside of England (Toulouse, Marseille, Cardiff), which must be an incredibly rare distinction for anyone to have played multiple times for the club.

After a season-long loan to Olympiacos in 2008, he joined their arch-rivals Panathinaikos permanently a year later, with his LFC career amounting to a mere 280 minutes (Transfermarkt).

Maxi Rodriguez

Prior to his move to Liverpool in January 2010, Reds fans would’ve best remembered the winger for his stunning winner against Mexico at the 2006 World Cup and a goal against us at Anfield in a Champions League game for Atletico Madrid a couple of years later.

He was one of the few shining lights of a largely dismal 2010/11 season, scoring 10 Premier League goals in that campaign (Transfermarkt), seven of which came during a three-game hot streak towards the latter stages (remember that glorious Monday night hat-trick by the Thames against Fulham?).

He didn’t feature much the following year but popped up with some important goals, scoring in narrow away wins against Chelsea and Blackburn (two). In the summer of 2012, he returned to his homeland to join Newell’s Old Boys.

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Liverpool are readying themselves for a festive fixture against Aston Villa and in the lead up to the match, Jurgen Klopp was asked to comment on the actions of one of our opponents for the game.

The 55-year-old was asked for his thoughts on Emi Martinez’s unsportsmanlike behaviour during the World Cup Final penalty shootout and said: “Nothing to say about it [Martinez debate], congratulations for winning the World Cup. It was really well deserved, a tough game and after 80 minutes the best final I ever saw in my life. It was absolutely special.”

READ MORE: (Video) Klopp provides transfer update on ‘exceptional’ Bellingham

It was good that our boss managed not to get dragged into commenting on the 30-year-old and especially ahead of possibly facing him at Villa Park, if he is deemed ready to play once again after some considerable celebrations.

Our job is to look after ourselves and hopefully come away from Birmingham with all three points, should a penalty come our way then let’s hope the Reds fare better than the French did in Qatar.

You can watch Klopp’s comments on Martinez (from 5:12) via BeanymanSports on YouTube:

Exclusive: Every word of our Sofyan Amrabat interview with Аnas Bakhkhar – will the Moroccan sign for the Reds?

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There were many Liverpool supporters that were hoping Ibou Konate could secure a World Cup final victory but there was one former Red that couldn’t help but share his joy after Argentina clinched the much coveted trophy.

Taking to his Twitter account Javier Mascherano said: ‘Yesssss!!! WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!! THANK YOU ETERNALLY GUYS’.

The 38-year-old made 147 appearances for his nation before retiring in 2018 and would have been so desperate to have secured this trophy for his compatriots during his playing days but it doesn’t sound like he’s too upset with watching as a fan.

READ MORE: (Video) Ibou Konate’s crunching tackle on Lautaro Martinez in World Cup final

Along with Maxi Rodriguez, Emiliano Insua, Mauricio Pellegrino and Sebastian Leto, our former No.20 is one of just five Argentines to have played for the Reds and they all would have shared great joy in watching Lionel Messi lift the famous trophy aloft.

For our No.5 though, it’s the sad reality that he has missed out on the Premier League, Champions League and World Cup in the space of a few months.

Let’s hope that the 23-year-old can bounce back from this upset and that he will be able to once again show to the world just how brilliant he is.

For now, it’s Jurgen Klopp and the rest of his Anfield teammates’ job to raise his spirits and get the Frenchman ready for a busy second part of the campaign.

You can view Mascherano’s post via his Twitter account:

Siiiiiiiii!!!
CAMPEONES DEL MUNDO!!!!
GRACIAS ETERNAS MUCHACHOS.

— Javier Mascherano (@Mascherano) December 18, 2022

Exclusive: Every word of our Sofyan Amrabat interview with Аnas Bakhkhar – will the Moroccan sign for the Reds?

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Liverpool have been linked with many players at this year’s World Cup but one name that has perhaps had the most advanced talks reported about them is Enzo Fernandez, with some outlets claiming that he has reached an agreement with our club.

As reported by Diario AS though, this may not be the case: ‘ The midfielder is being one of the proper names of #ARG in this World Cup, which has made many powerful people set their eyes on him.

‘ The Portuguese press assures that he already has a pre-agreement with Liverpool… we will have to see what Benfica, his current club, thinks…’

READ MORE: (Image) Kylian Mbappe’s Mum poses with Liverpool shirt after France victory

The Benfica man only arrived in the summer and to have reached a pre-agreement with another club just four months into his contract and whilst participating in a World Cup in Qatar – seems unlikely.

Despite missing a penalty for his nation, Argentina were still able to progress to the semi-finals and so the 21-year-old will be hoping that he can add to his tally of five appearances, one assist and one goal in the tournament so far.

With four-and-a-half years remaining on his deal with the Portuguese club, it’s not going to be likely that a fee can be agreed for a small price and impressive performances during this winter’s competition will only raise that further.

If the Darwin Nunez negotiations are anything to go by too, for us to have reached a pre-agreement would only entail a deal that includes a lot more money that we would be expected to spend on the midfielder.

You can view the Fernandez update via @diarioas on Twitter:

El volante está siendo uno de los nombres propios de #ARG en este Mundial, lo que ha hecho que muchos poderosos pongan sus ojos en él

La prensa portuguesa asegura que con el Liverpool ya tiene hasta un preacuerdo… habrá que ver qué opina el Benfica, su actual club… pic.twitter.com/p9QAdyL8YW

— Diario AS (@diarioas) December 12, 2022

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Liverpool supporters may well have eyes on several midfielders at this year’s World Cup and it appears that there is now another name in which we may made bigger steps towards agreeing a possible deal – in Enzo Fernandez.

As reported by Portuguese news outlet Report (via @DaveOCKOP): ‘Liverpool have made contact with Benfica for Enzo Fernandez. They also speak about talk in Spain of a possible pre agreement with Liverpool’.

The 21-year-old has registered five appearances and recorded one goal for Argentina in Qatar and has helped them reach the World Cup semi-finals, operating impressively in the centre of the pitch.

READ MORE: (Video) Alexander-Arnold delivers hilarious death stare to Bellingham in training

Despite only signing for Benfica in the past summer, there have already been plenty of rumours linking ourselves with the man that still has four-and-a-half years remaining on his current deal.

Because of the raised profile due to his performances on the greatest international stage and the length of contract remaining, nevermind the fees we know that are required after signing Darwin Nunez from the same team, this certainly isn’t going to be a cheap deal to get over the line.

However, the source of these rumours being one that was so trustworthy when our Uruguayan forward moved to Anfield, means that we may need to pay a little attention to see how this story progresses.

You can view the Tweet about Fernandez via @DaveOCKOP:

NEW: @Record_Portugal who broke the Darwin Nunez to Liverpool news have said that Liverpool have made contact with Benfica for Enzo Fernandez. They also speak about talk in Spain of a possible pre agreement with Liverpool.https://t.co/vXJvsHXJIx

— DaveOCKOP (@DaveOCKOP) December 10, 2022

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Virgil van Dijk is known for being ‘as calm as you like’ on the football pitch but one incident during Holland’s quarter-final match with Argentina showed that he certainly has a fiery side too.

The incident occured after Leandro Paredes fouled Nathan Ake and then fired the ball into the Dutch players on the bench, over came our No.4 to sort the situation by flooring the man on loan at Juventus.

READ MORE: Exclusive: Mark Bennett’s role in Jude Bellingham negotiations confirmed

It started a mass brawl between both sides but helped show to the opposition that the captain of Netherlands wasn’t going to let any of his teammates go undefended and was a real show of leadership.

Unfortunately for our centre-half though, it wasn’t to be his night as his side were dumped out of the World Cup on penalties.

You can watch the video of van Dijk (from 2:19:05) via BBC iPlayer:

EOTK Insider: Liverpool’s Two World Cup Winners and 14 Finalists, ahead of Qatar

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Liverpool have seemingly been linked with half of the players at this year’s World Cup but one of the possible recruits caught the eye in his goal-scoring display for Argentina and Enzo Fernandez is a name of many of our supporters’ lips.

Having been linked with ourselves by SPORT, the Benfica man will have been marked as one to watch by many fans in this tournament and his performance off the bench against Mexico certainly did him no harm.

READ MORE: (Video) Coady left fuming as Henderson asks him to confirm his Merseyside allegiances

Having joined the Portuguese club in the summer, it certainly won’t be a small transfer fee for the 21-year-old but he could be a midfield option we explore in the summer.

The issue here is though that the better his performances in Qatar, the larger his transfer fee is likely to become.

You can watch the video of Fernandez’s Argentina highlights via 899k on YouTube:

EOTK Insider: Liverpool’s Two World Cup Winners and 14 Finalists, ahead of Qatar

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Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni thinks Liverpool are above everybody right now – and he’s not far off!

The former West Ham defender (who could forget that legendary Premier League stint?) is now in charge of one of the world’s most renowned international sides – with Lionel Messi as his star player.

But speaking about the state of football, he’s claimed that anybody can beat anybody – bar Jurgen Klopp’s tricky Reds!

Spanish football journalist Sid Lowe tweeted the comments today:

Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni: “there are no unbeatable teams…except Liverpool”.

— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) February 13, 2020

We have been defeated this season, of course. Napoli beat us in Italy and Aston Villa thumped the kids 5-0!

But in the Premier League, we’re on 24 wins and one draw from 25 games – the best start to a season from any club in the history of Europe’s top five leagues.

We return to action on Saturday against Norwich, before travelling to Spain to take on the mighty Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

The post Argentina manager says Liverpool are world’s only ‘unbeatable team’ appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Brazil progressed to the final of the Copa América after a goal and an assist from the Reds’ Roberto Firmino saw them overcome Argentina in their semi-final clash.

Bobby was a threat all over the pitch, using his skill and style to weave a way forward for A Seleção.

With the game at 2-0, Firmino nutmegged Lautaro Martínez who was not too happy about being made to look like a fool; the Inter Milan forward shoved Bobby to the ground and reportedly screamed “I will break your jaw” at the 27-year-old.

Watch more:

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With the whistle blown, the two found themselves clashing and had to be separated by the referee as as Argentinian and Brazilian tempers flared and their teammates surrounded them.

While Firmino can probably look after himself, Philippe Countinho and Gabriel Jesus got involved as they defended Bobby – if only Fabinho was there to put the fear of O Monstro in Martínez.

Watch the video here:

Firmino nutmegs Lautaro, who was furious and pushes him to the ground. Lautaro shouted “I will break your jaw” at Firmino. pic.twitter.com/nxmMp2Wx83

— Aswin (@Zizouology) July 3, 2019

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