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• Alexis Mac Allister delight after opening Reds account with ‘best goal of life’

  Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister admits it was nice to be momentarily freed from the restrictions of his defensive role to score the “best goal of my life”.

  The Argentina international’s superb 30-yard rising drive into the top corner in Sunday’s dramatic 4-3 win over Fulham was his first for the club since signing from Brighton in the summer.

  His attacking qualities have been largely nullified following his arrival as necessity has meant he has been asked to play a deeper role in midfield than he is used to, but his flash of brilliance showed he has not lost any of his instincts in the final third.

  “Not a bad start to my career there in Liverpool as a goalscorer,” he said.

  “I had a nice one against Leicester (for Brighton) but it was disallowed so I think it was the best goal I scored in my life.

  “As soon as I hit it, I knew that it was going to be a goal. When I play as a number six I am not very worried about goals and assists (because) I have other work to do – but it’s always nice to score.”

  Mac Allister’s goal would have been a worthy match-winner but some haphazard defending allowed Fulham to equalise twice before taking the lead with 10 minutes to go.

  That set up a grandstand finish with Wataru Endo and Trent Alexander-Arnold scoring within a couple of minutes of each other to snatch victory and extend their perfect Anfield winning record to 11 matches this season.

  Captain Virgil van Dijk accepted there was a degree of sloppiness in Liverpool’s game but said at the start of a busy December it was important just to secure the points and move on to the next game, which comes at Sheffield United on Wednesday.

  “I think we were a bit too sloppy in possession in the transitions but I am not that kind of guy that wants to look too much to the negative side,” said the Netherlands defender.

  “If we win these types of games the way we do now is not a bad thing so we have to take the positives out of it, especially during this busy period that starts now.”

  Alexander-Arnold was pivotal to the victory as it was his impressive free-kick, which went in via the underside of the crossbar and the back of goalkeeper Bernd Leno, which kicked things off early in the game.

  When Mac Allister was withdrawn with 25 minutes to go it was the right-back who stepped into central midfield to continue to dictate matters with his passing and Van Dijk has been impressed with how his vice-captain has operated mainly in a hybrid role for the last nine month.

  “Well obviously when he has the ball at his feet and he is free he can put the ball wherever he wants and that is a big quality,” added the Dutchman.

  “We all know that and opponents know it as well. They tried to put him a bit more under pressure but obviously for him to (contribute to) two goals and be important on the offensive side is good and it is something we’re going to need, so let’s keep it going.”

• Mikel Arteta says Arsenal face ‘huge marathon’ to try and dethrone Man City

  Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta insists he is not interested in what happens at title rivals Manchester City – either on or off the pitch.

  The Gunners sit two points clear at the top of the Premier League after their narrow 2-1 win over Wolves on Saturday.

  Liverpool are their nearest challengers as City were held to a draw for the third league game in a row – with Tottenham sealing a thrilling share of the spoils at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

  Defending champions City will still be in the shake-up come the end of the season and pipped Arsenal to the title last season en route to winning the treble.

  Asked if he has seen a drop-off from that City side that swatted away all comers last year, Arteta replied: “I don’t look at those things. I have enough looking at my team.

  “I think about how we’re going to play better tomorrow and be more consistent and be more difficult to beat and the things that we need to tweak and how we can use our players in the best possible ways to win. It’s still a huge marathon ahead of us.

  “The encouragement comes from watching the team play, watching them behave every day and how hungry and willing they are to approach every training session.

  “That’s what gives me encouragement. What the others do is something that we cannot control.”

  Arteta was also name-checked by friend and former colleague Pep Guardiola in the aftermath of City’s 3-3 draw with Spurs.

  Guardiola refused to be drawn on the decision of Simon Hooper not to play an advantage late in the game as City broke through on goal – saying he would “not do a Mikel Arteta comment”.

  It was a clear reference to former City assistant Arteta, who is still awaiting the outcome of a Football Association charge after he labelled the decision of VAR to award Anthony Gordon’s goal in a recent 1-0 loss to Newcastle as “embarrassing” and “a disgrace”.

  “On to the next one (question) please,” Arteta replied when asked about Guardiola’s jibe.

  Asked if he was aware of the sort of mind-games Premier League managers have utilised in the past, he added: “If I am good at mind games, maybe you don’t notice.”

• Brendan Rodgers insists hard work is key for Celtic squad over busy December

  Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers stressed that hard work and mentality would be crucial during a busy December for players who are in and out of his side.

  Rodgers claimed he was the angriest he has ever been as a manager at half-time at McDiarmid Park on Sunday with Celtic trailing 1-0.

  His players reacted to his accusations they had been “soft” in the first half and went on to beat St Johnstone 3-1.

  “For me, it’s very, very straightforward, football,” Rodgers said. “What you gain through experience, and when you take away the technical jargon, the difference in the game is about working hard.

  “And when you are a top team, it’s about working very hard. We failed to do that in the first half and if you don’t do that, you can get punished, with any team.

  “So you always have to guard against that. No matter how good a team you are, the start point for any team is your work. And once you put your work in and play to the intensity and speed of which you are asked to play, you see the difference it makes.

  “There was nothing tactical about Sunday, it was about mentality and physicality and once you bring that to the game you get your rewards.”

  Rodgers has spoken of the need to strengthen his squad in recent weeks despite admitting he has too many players.

  Such comments might not give much encouragement to those who are unable to break into his team, including summer signings Maik Nawrocki and Gustaf Lagerbielke, who are being kept out of central defence by Cameron Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales. But Rodgers has told his squad players to keep believing.

  “I am out there every day watching training,” he said. “And when I see players training and working with that personality then they will always edge their way closer to my thinking.

  “I have said before it is clear our squad is quite big. Unfortunately for the likes of Maik and Gustaf, Scalesy came into the team and really took his opportunity. Nat Phillips has been brilliant since he has been here, he has been a real positive influence, and it’s the one area of the team you don’t want to change too much when both players are fit.

  “So for any player it’s all about what they do in training and that is all they can do. You can’t get too disappointed. If you are working hard, then hopefully those opportunities come for you.

  “All the guys who came into the game (on Sunday) affected it. The modern game is not now just about the 11 players who start. Guys like Mikey (Johnston) coming into the game was outstanding, very direct, fast and was creative, and worked hard. Jamesy (Forrest) gets his goal, Tommo (Tomoki Iwata) comes in and creates the third goal.

  “That’s testament to how they train, the intensity of our training every day allows them to be at a good level so when they come into the game they make an impact.”

  Rodgers will have Luis Palma available for Wednesday’s cinch Premiership encounter with Hibernian after the winger went off with cramp in Perth.

  Injured trio Daizen Maeda, Liel Abada and Reo Hatate are still to return to full training.

  “Liel and Daizen are both on the pitch now which is great news,” Rodgers said. “Daizen is probably a little bit ahead of Liel, but I am expecting at some point this month they will be available.

  “They are back out on the field with the medical team and the rehabilitation team, and hopefully it won’t be too long before they will be back in with the squad again.

  “We allowed Reo to go back to Japan and he has worked very hard there. He returns later in the week and we will assess him when he comes back.”