Alexis Mac Allister learns his lesson after public revelation over his Liverpool future - more of these destructive winners and there will be a new contract in front of him, writes IAN LADYMAN

Alexis Mac Allister is a World Cup champion and Premier League winner but even the most experienced footballers occasionally learn lessons.

The Liverpool midfielder this week learnt that maybe it’s best to earn new contracts by winning matches rather than lighting up press conferences

Mac Allister’s decision to preface this game by moaning about the lack of a new contract offer was either clumsy or sinister in its timing. Only he knows his motive but what is certain is his manager Andoni Iraola – only three meaningful games into his Anfield tenure – could have done without it.

But here, out on the grass where it really mattered, Mac Allister rescued an important European game against a high calibre opponent with a 20-yard shot so pure and powerful and destructive that it may as well have been accompanied by the crashing of cymbals and the banging of drums.

Much more of that and there will indeed be a piece of paper in front of the Argentinean with his name on it and maybe a 27-year-old footballer of great experience will reflect on that over time.  

Liverpool needed the goal, too. Unconvincing early on against Diego Simeone’s streetwise side, Liverpool had fallen behind to a Marcos Llorente goal after 17 minutes.

And though Dominik Szoboszlai had equalised just before half-time, the game was very much in the balance before Mac Allister delivered so sweetly at the Kop End.

This had felt like the biggest test of Liverpool’s early season beforehand and that was how it turned out.

Atletico have not started the Spanish league season particularly impressively but they were familiar in much of what they did here. When Llorente gave them the lead in the 17th minute, it was his fifth goal against Liverpool – exactly half his total Champions League tally – and that pretty much summed things up at that stage.

Atletico were sharp and hungry and as irritatingly sly as ever. It felt at times as though they were rolling out a blueprint with which to thwart Liverpool that had been well drilled through the years.

Patience is certainly a virtue when a team plays a Simeone side. They will give you nothing and try and take plenty, especially when the referee isn’t looking.

For a while they were too comfortable here and it took Szoboszlai’s goal just before half-time to settle Iraola’s team down a little. After that, doubtless to Iraola’s relief, it was a different game.

The new Liverpool manager - in charge of his first Champions League game – had handed £125m Bradley Barcola his first start and asked young Rio Ngumoha to play on the other side after Cody Gakpo reported with a minor injury.

Liverpool could have scored within 15 seconds. Szoboszlai robbed an opponent straight from the kick-off and played Alexander Isak in down the right only for the Swede to pull his right foot shot across goal and wide.

It was a really good chance but didn’t immediately serve to preface more of the same. Instead it was Atletico who carried the first half threat, looking to penetrate Liverpool’s dreadfully square back four whenever they broke through the centre of the field.

Iraola had stuck with the same full-backs who had started last Friday’s win at Ipswich. Both were to feature in Liverpool’s equaliser but left-back Milos Kerkez was all over the place for the first half an hour. He often is.

Kerkez, once a Bournemouth player for Iraola, seems to do everything at 100 miles an hour and as such hardly ever looks in control. Either going forward or in retreat, the Hungarian injects chaos in this Liverpool team and at some point he is going to have to learn.

Here, he was a yard behind his defensive team-mates as Julian Alvarez played Llorente through towards the Kop for the Spaniard to lift the ball over Alisson Becker and into the goal with ease.

Atletico were worth their lead at this point and Liverpool’s immediate response was unconvincing. They were slow and clunky with the ball and – with their best defensive midfielder Ryan Gravenberch inexplicably left on the bench yet again - as open as a barn door when they were without it.

Alisson saved well from Alvarez when Atletico caught the Liverpool defence square again in the 27th minute and only in the ten minutes before half-time did the home team start to deliver any kind of momentum and threat.

Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak saved well from Florian Wirtz after Isak’s superb far post pass before Kerkez showed great heart to win the ball in midfield and set in motion the move that led to the equaliser.

His pass across the penalty area allowed Barcola to shoot and when the ball ran loose off the goalkeeper, right-back Ronald Araujo had advanced to flick it cleverly to Szoboszlai who side footed it gently into the corner.

Simeone’s team came again as Alex Baena volleyed wide but at the start of the second half it was Liverpool who found a rhythm.

Barcola should have scored his first Liverpool goal – shooting wide after Wirtz played him clear – but soon after Mac Allister slammed in his redemption goal from 20 yards after Ngumoha’s run across the byline preceded a hurried clearance from a Spanish defence feeling the squeeze for the first time.

The adrenaline rush of a deficit being turned into a lead in the space of ten minutes was significant and almost tangible. It didn’t herald further Liverpool dominance, though.

Indeed it was Alvarez who spurned the next chance of the game, side footing at Alisson when he should have done better from 14 yards.

By now Barcola had gone off with what Liverpool will hope was only cramp. With fifteen minutes left, it was Atletico who were once again pushing. In vain, as it turned out.

This felt big for Liverpool and their manager. And maybe for Alexis Mac Allister too.