Trent Alexander-Arnold unsurprisingly came under the spotlight after Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Man United, but has he lost focus?
The Reds were never close to their best at Anfield on Sunday, dropping two points in the Premier League title race.
As is so often the case in this fixture, form went out of the window, and Liverpool could easily have lost the game.
Here, Henry Jackson (@HenryJackson87) and The Redmen TV’s Dan Clubbe (@dan_clubbe) discuss a frustrating day, not least an awful showing from Alexander-Arnold.
The good…
DAN: The positives are minimal, in truth, aside from a 15-minute spell when it went from 0-1 to 2-1, and we actually resembled the side that had gone clear at the top of the Premier League.
Aside from that bit, though, we were off it in pretty much every department.
But Gakpo was magic, and that aforementioned period was ignited by perhaps the standout moment of class from a Liverpool perspective from the Dutchman.
Brilliant goal from a player quickly becoming a man for the big occasion.
Mac Allister was excellent, too. He was one of the few who could viably walk away with his head held high. On it more or less throughout, he competed well, and showed his fight and quality.
HENRY: I totally agree with Dan that Gakpo and Mac Allister were impressive – the former has become such an important attacking player now.
I’d also throw in some praise for Virg, who I thought held the defence together. Had he not been playing, Liverpool would have lost.
That spell in the second half was great to watch, too, but all that hard work was undone!
The bad…
DAN: Yikes. Let’s just say it was a day to forget for the majority.
Losing duels, second to almost every ball, sloppy in possession – just so many bad days at the office all coming in the same display.
It was a rare off day for Diaz. It felt as though he was always on the periphery and any opportunities he did get were wasted.
We were crying out for a proper out-and-out centre forward for large parts.
Curtis never really became a prominent figure and was too loose in possession when we were crying out for someone of his ability to calm things down.
Honestly, barring about four lads tops, we were miles off it. Just not good enough.
Perhaps the worst performance of the season collectively – worse than Nottingham Forest for my money.
HENRY: God it was bad, wasn’t it?
I hate this fixture with a passion and the overconfidence from some before the game annoyed me even more come the final whistle.
It goes without saying that Trent was appalling – more on him later – but I thought Robbo was so poor, too.
Once again, he was at the scene of the crime for a goal, as has been the case far too often this season, and many wingers have the beating of him now.
The general performance was shocking, with few redeeming features, but I will at least give them a tiny bit of leeway because of the weather. But that’s being kind.
I don’t think the crowd helped either, to be honest. They seemed moody from the off, and almost expectant of a positive result.
What a chance blown in the title race.
And has Trent lost focus?
DAN: It’s been a winter of discontent for Trent, with scrutiny on his every performance, action and celebration, but I’ve struggled to subscribe to the microanalysis.
Until Sunday!
Many have already suggested the speculation and noise has bled into his performances and perhaps his overall persona, albeit the languid style has been an ever-present more or less, but on the evidence of that display it’s hard to argue against it.
It was tame at best, and that’s putting it very mildly. Just no care in his passing, lacking desire and the numbers are damning.
I’m never one to question the professionalism of any Liverpool player, but I came away from that wondering exactly where his head was.
His face portrayed the look of a man with a thousand thoughts in his head, and however this ends, he’s going to need to get it sorted before he steps onto a football pitch for us again.
HENRY: I haven’t been more annoyed with a Liverpool player’s performance all season, simple as that.
I agree with Dan that I haven’t bought into the criticism recently, with Trent’s performances largely good, but he was abysmal here.
That first United goal is genuinely embarrassing.
I can forgive the sloppy pass because that can happen, but the lack of intensity defensively, in a huge game against your biggest rivals, was pathetic.
Maybe it’s just a coincidence and Trent threw in a howler at the same time as all this Madrid speculation, but I think his mind is clearly all over the place.
As Dan says, he looked almost lost and disengaged at times, and it ultimately cost his boyhood club dearly.
He needs to sort his head out very quickly or accept being benched because that was not even close to acceptable effort levels.
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