'Contained the turbulence' - Argentina media's Alexis Mac Allister verdict after Copa America win

Liverpool star Alexis Mac Allister played a key role in Argentina's victory over Ecuador at the Copa America.

Thursday night saw Argentina held to a 1-1 draw in the quarter-final of the competition with Ecuador. Manchester United's Lisandro Martinez opened the scoring for Argentina before Kevin Rodriguez equalised in stoppage time for Ecuador.

Mac Allister provided the assist for Martinez's goal, and netted his penalty in the shootout. The Liverpool midfielder will now be looking ahead to the semi-final of the Copa America. Argentina will face either Venezuela or Canada in their semi-final which will take place next week.

Victory over Ecuador has led to plenty of reaction from Argentina's media outlets. TyC Sports provided their own player ratings for each member of the squad, including Mac Allister.

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The outlet handed the Liverpool star a score of 7/10 for his performance against Ecuador. Mac Allister was also praised by TyC Sports after Argentina were forced to recover in extra time after a late equaliser at the NRG Stadium in Houston.

"He ate up the pitch in the first half," wrote the verdict. "In Argentina's worst moment, he stood up and contained the turbulence.

"He had the character to put the ball under his sole and think. He headed it in at the first post for Lisandro's [Martinez] goal. He kicked the penalty in an impeccable manner."

Infobae gave Mac Allister an 8/10 rating, writing: "He was the thermometer of the team. In the first minutes, Argentina suffered because they could not find the ball and constantly lost the mark with Moisés Caicedo, who appeared strikingly very close to Enner Valencia in the Ecuadorian pressure.

"Slowly he found the rhythm of the game and thus the National Team approached its best moments. He anticipated with a header and assisted Lisandro Martínez in the goal. Of course, he converted one of the key penalties in the shootout."

Ole gave Mac Allister a 7/10, writing of his performance: "He was very attentive in his pressure and in recovering the ball high up. On a pitch where it was difficult to find his footing, he was the most clear player in the national team: he provided touch, movement and the header that led to the goal."

Victory for Argentina means that Mac Allister's return to Merseyside has been delayed once again. Even if Argentina are defeated in their semi-final, the country will still have to play in a third-fourth place play-off fixture, or the final if they claim victory over Venezuela or Canada.

Arne Slot takes charge of pre-season training today (Friday) as Liverpool's new head coach. Mac Allister will enjoy a summer break following Argentina's participation in the Copa America before returning to Merseyside ahead of the new Premier League campaign that gets underway in August.