Brighton: Alexis Mac Allister Stars Despite VAR Ruling Out Wonder Goal

Alexis Mac Allister starred in Brighton’s 5-2 victory over Leicester City and was denied a hat-trick by another controversial VAR call.

Mac Allister thought that he had made it 3-2 early in the second half as his thunderbolt of a shot went straight into the top corner. However, VAR deemed Enock Mwepu to be offside during the free-kick despite not touching the ball to be interfering with play in the build-up.

However, Leandro Trossard soon put the Seagulls in front and then Mac Allister dispatched his penalty to make it four. In the 97th minute, Mac Allister curled in a David Beckham-esque free-kick into the top corner to complete the rout. His manager Graham Potter gave him a big hug after the full-time whistle.

The result has put mounting pressure on Leicester City’s manager Brendan Rodgers whose side sits bottom of the Premier League as one of two sides yet to win a game this term, the other being Everton. The Seagulls are stationed in an impressive fourth place.

What His Manager Had to Say Speaking to the BBC After the Game Potter Said:

"It was fantastic execution from him and it topped off an amazing performance from him. I thought he was incredible. So unlucky not to score another fantastic strike and he was obviously calm with the penalty so he’s had a top afternoon and I’m proud of him.I feel sorry for the supporters and obviously Alexis. Someone is going to tell me it is the correct decision because it’s obviously a millimetre. It is what it is but for the guys in the audience, experiencing that strike it’s a moment they can’t enjoy. Thankfully it didn’t affect the outcome for us."

Could we see Brighton’s Mac Allister at the World Cup?

Mac Allister missed out on playing for Argentina at the 2021 Copa America but he was recently on the bench in their Finallisima victory over Italy and played in their 5-0 victory over Estonia four days later where Lionel Messi scored all five goals.

There is competition for the starting midfield places as Argentina has players such as Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes and Guido Rodríguez in their ranks. Mac Allister is versatile though and he can play in an attacking midfield role as well as centrally and on the left.

The Brighton player’s father Carlos Mac Allister played alongside Diego Maradona at Boca Juniors so he has football in his blood. Alexis has also played for two clubs that Maradona has played for, Argentinos Juniors and Boca.

For Argentinos, in total, he has nine goals and 12 assists in 83 games. Whilst at Boca he won the Argentine Primera División and scored twice with four assists in 20 appearances. For Brighton now he has played 78 times and has 12 goals and six assists.

Mac Allister has five senior caps for his country and will be desperate to be part of Lionel Scaloni’s plans for Qatar 2022. He already has four goals in six games for Brighton this season, if he keeps this form up then he will be hard to ignore.