Liverpool might have landed their third win on the bounce in all competitions at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, but there's no question that Arne Slot's side left plenty of room for improvement, lacking control and fluency throughout.
Xavi Simons was sent off after scraping his Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk's leg in a studs-up challenge before the interval, and Cristian Romero saw red too in the closing stages, kicking out at Ibrahima Konate in a startling display of fury.
Both centre-backs came away unscathed, but the same can't be said for Alexander Isak, whose fleeting appearance down N17 resulted in a goal but an injury to his leg to go with it.
Isak misery continues down N17
Isak has not found his feet at Liverpool, having joined the Premier League champions from Newcastle United in a record-breaking £125m deal on deadline day.
The 26-year-old's goal at the weekend was only his second of the league campaign, but it was a flash of brilliance and a reminder that this is a player who had been hailed "the best striker in the Premier League" last season by pundit Jamie Carragher.
He has struggled, but much of that is because of Liverpool's dysfunctional system, with wingers and creativity as a whole struggling to be directed toward the Sweden international's line-breaking movements.
It was, however, a strong finish, rifled past Guglielmo Vicario and into the back of the net following neat interplay between Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike.
Slot will be hoping for more of the same going forward, but even if Isak avoids a long-term injury layoff, the threat of fitness blows is growing for a striker whose track record is not the finest.
He's a concern, the world-class striker, but he's not the biggest worry in Liverpool's first team.
Slot must drop £150k-p/w Liverpool flop
Liverpool laboured their way to a win at Tottenham, and now they have climbed to fifth place in the Premier League, level on points with Chelsea ahead of them.
But so much more work must be plied if Slot is to bring his team back into the ascendancy, and one of the tougher decisions the Dutch tactician must make is dropping Alexis Mac Allister, who has been a pale imitation of his once elite self this year.
The £150k-per-week midfielder had stood out as a "superstar" throughout his first two terms in Liverpool, as was remarked by pundit Joe Cole, but he's fallen by the wayside this year, lacking all of his physicality and sharpness and completeness.
As football analyst Pythagoras in Boots puts it: "Mac Allister has gone from the heartbeat of Liverpool's midfield to its ghost."
The Liverpool Echo did give the Argentina star a solid 6/10 match rating, drawing attention to his involvement in the build-up to Liverpool's opening goal, but it was also said that he struggled to influence his team's attacking play from his creative berth at number ten, and his wider metrics from across the campaign underline that.
As per Sofascore, Mac Allister, 26, failed to create a chance, nor did he attempt a tackle. He lost five duels, winning only two. He did not attempt a dribble and made just one recovery.
This all points toward a staggering athletic regression and a crisis of confidence. He's becoming Slot's biggest problem, and he needs to be dropped.