It's never easy, is it? Be that as it may, Liverpool overcame unlikely adversity against Sheffield United to reclaim their place at the Premier League summit heading into the season's final stretch.

Expected victories for Arsenal and Manchester City the day before increased the pressure on Jurgen Klopp's side and while the soon-to-step-down manager did not ring the changes as many anticipated, with Old Trafford awaiting on Sunday, Liverpool were complacent and wasteful in attack.

Darwin Nunez's tenacious but fortuitous first-half goal was cancelled out by Gustavo Hamer's deflected equaliser, going down as a Conor Bradley own goal, and while Cody Gakpo sealed the all-important victory with a precise header late on, it was Alexis Mac Allister who stepped up with a stunning strike to restore the lead after 76 minutes.

Alexis Mac Allister's performance vs Sheffield United

Mac Allister is proving to be quite the sensation on Merseyside this season, and while he's been impressive throughout his maiden campaign for Liverpool, his wonder goal against the Blades takes his goal contribution streak to six successive matches in the Premier League.

It was a goal of the highest order, at the biggest moment. There's something very Ilkay Gundogan-esque about the manner in which the 25-year-old is fashioning results himself with frightening constancy right now.

Unfortunate not to add a delightful second after his shot from a direct free-kick careered off the bar, Mac Allister is truly the real deal and might just have a say in whether Liverpool glean gold in less than two months.

Not just popping up with a staggering strike, he put in a real shift and deserves all the plaudits after another barnstorming performance.

Minutes played

90'

Goals

1

Touches

103

Accurate passes

77/87 (89%)

Key passes

2

Shots taken

3

Hit woodwork

1

Duels won

6/10

Tackles

4

Interceptions

2

Saved by his Argentinian teammate, Ryan Gravenberch will be bitterly disappointed after failing to impress for the Reds, having been hooked on the hour mark after resembling something of a passenger against the bottom-placed opposition.

Ryan Gravenberch fails to take his chance

So much talent, so much still to prove. Gravenberch signed for Liverpool from Bayern Munich in a £34m deal back in August to complete a summer of sweeping midfield change, but he's ebbed and flowed throughout the year and did himself little justice against the valiant Blades.

With Mac Allister anchoring the midfield, Gravenberch was handed the chance to impress after missing recent matches through injury, but he failed to impress with a peripheral performance.

As per Sofascore, he did complete 85% of his passes but took less than half the touches of his starting midfield peers, failing to make a single key pass and winning three duels and two tackles.

The Liverpool Echo's Ian Doyle felt that Gravenberch left much to be desired, branding him with a 5/10 match rating and writing: 'often on the fringes of the action, understandable after so long out the starting line-up. Looked particularly off the pace after interval. Subbed.'

It feels important to stress that this is a 21-year-old player with an abundance of talent and many matches to make the requisite improvements. Here stands a young gun with talent lofty enough to entice the likes of Bayern and Liverpool.

He will be disappointed with his failure to make his mark against Sheffield United but with so much on the line across these culminating weeks of the top-flight campaign, it's hard to envisage a world where Klopp feels comfortable starting him in the engine room.

Harvey Elliott, Bobby Clark and Curtis Jones are all pushing for that coveted starting berth and Gravenberch, while talented, might be better off introduced in later phases with so much on the line.