If you talk the talk in football, you need to be able to walk the walk.So after Alexis Mac Allister’s lively pre-match press conference against Atletico Madrid, which centred around no new contract being offered to him over the summer, he did his talking with his feet by scoring a spectacular winner in Liverpool’s 2-1 victory over the Spanish side.The Argentina international was keen to stress during his media duties that he loves the club, and that came across in his celebration as he raced towards the Kop and his emotions poured out.It was the 27-year-old’s third consecutive start under new head coach Andoni Iraola — he was a substitute for the first Premier League game against Newcastle. This was, at least partly, due to his delayed arrival to pre-season following his extended World Cup campaign.He has played well in all three matches as the deepest member of Iraola’s midfield, adding a better balance to the side. Naturally, because of a lack of pre-season and the demands of the position, he has tired in the second half of games, but in each, his performance up until the hour mark has been encouraging.But that doesn’t mean that Liverpool were wrong to take the stance they did in the summer regarding his contract, and neither should they be knocking on Mac Allister’s door tomorrow with a proposal.Contract drama is nothing new at Anfield, especially in recent years. There have been high-profile situations involving Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konate. Just when it looked like it might be quiet on that front until the situations involving Van Dijk and Alisson Becker — both are out of contract at the end of the season — ramp up, it took centre stage again.Mac Allister celebrates his late goal against Atletico Madrid (Carl Recine/Getty Images)Mac Allister, who confirmed he had options to leave in the recent transfer window, told reporters he was “very sad” that the club “was not in a position” to offer him a new contract. That came after his central midfield partners Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai had put pen to paper on new deals in March and July respectively. The trio were influential in Liverpool’s 2024-25 title success, so it’s not surprising that Mac Allister would be hurt to see the other two rewarded and not him.Context is important, though, and it is very understandable why Liverpool were not willing to offer the midfielder a new contract after last season. Mac Allister was far from the only player to regress on the pitch, with Gravenberch among those who fell short of their own standards, but he suffered one of the bigger and more concerning drop-offs. Comparisons were made to former Liverpool midfielder Fabinho, who was a shadow of his former self during the 2022-23 campaign.