Ian Doyle on Liverpool’s draw with Manchester City, where Jurgen Klopp makes the necessary adjustments and Trent Alexander-Arnold steps up
Trent Alexander-Arnold was careful to choose his words when discussing if Liverpool’s makeover had accelerated their ascent to the top of the Premier League.
We feel that is something we can accomplish when we look around the locker room, at the players we have, the team, the passion, and the atmosphere inside the team,” the right-back stated.
Alexander-Arnold has three championship matchups under his belt at Manchester City, so he is familiar with what it takes to contend with Pep Guardiola’s team. The personnel and tactic changes have inspired enthusiasm.
However, there are instances when action must be taken. Thus, with ten minutes left at the Etihad on Saturday and Liverpool behind by one goal, Alexander-Arnold converted a feed from Mohamed Salah with one touch before firing an angled right-footed effort into the lower corner.
After speaking boldly prior to the game, the Reds player was now happy to put his finger to his mouth and take advantage of the momentary silence from the City crowd before coming under heavy criticism and jeers.
For Alexander-Arnold, the fixture was always going to be significant. Even while Jeremy Doku was undoubtedly one of the players who reacted slowly in the build-up to the home team’s first, some may argue that the defender has defensive problems, but given his current form, any player would find the City player troublesome. And the truth is that Alexander-Arnold finished with more interceptions and made more tackles than any other Liverpool player during the day. His defensive contribution may be considered unquestionable.
