Alan Shearer says Trent Alexander-Arnold had a ’torrid’ time against Jack Grealish as Liverpool were outclassed by Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday.
Even though Jurgen Klopp’s side opened the scoring through Mohamed Salah, for perhaps the umpteenth time this season, it was a feeling of doom and gloom at the final whistle for the Reds.
Manchester City had put four goals past their old title rivals and Alan Shearer thinks ‘Man of the Match’ Jack Grealish proved to be a nightmare for Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The £100 million player provided the assist for Manchester City’s equalising goal, before putting the cherry on top of the cake when he netted his side’s fourth.
Once again, the defending, or lack of it, from the man on Liverpool’s right has come into question – Jamie Carragher has already fired a warning at how problematic this might become.
Alan Shearer didn’t hold back in his criticism of the 24-year-old because he felt that the attack-minded fullback ‘didn’t even know what day it was’ when trying to defend at the Etihad, as he told Match of the Day.
“I thought the best player on the park was Jack Grealish,” said Shearer. “Playing with such confidence and a belief in his own ability now.
“He stretched Liverpool defensively. They just couldn’t handle him at all – he has the freedom to come inside and go down the outside. He was just magnificent in everything he did.
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“He gave Trent (Alexander-Arnold) a torrid time at fullback. Trent didn’t know what day it was. He didn’t know where to go, what to do and how to handle him.
“Trent did know whether to get tight to him or show him down the line, in the end, he does neither – it was a brilliant run from de Bruyne (for Grealish’s goal). Trent doesn’t know where he is. Look where Trent starts and then finishes, he is 10 or 15 yards away from Grealish when he sticks the ball into the back of the net. He couldn’t cope with him.”
MASSIVE PRESSURE ON ALEXANDER-ARNOLD
Nobody is going to dispute Alexander-Arnold’s quality when he is on the front foot, it’s what he produces when going back that is the big issue.
There have always been question marks about his defensive qualities, but this season, it has all taken a new low.
Alexander-Arnold’s issue is that, after facing one tricky winner in Jack Grealish, it’s going to be another thriving one in Gabriel Martinelli next Sunday when Arsenal visit Merseyside.
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