"There's no intensity" - Rio Ferdinand says Trent Alexander-Arnold disguised 'horrific' defensive performance with goal against Man City
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has lambasted Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold for his defensive display against Manchester City at the weekend.
In the 1-1 Premeir League draw at the Etihad on Saturday (November 25), Erling Haaland fired City into the lead inside 27 minutes. However, Alexander-Arnold forced a share of the spoils 10 minutes from time as the Cityzens were knocked off the perch by Arsenal, who surged to the top after 13 games.
However, despite scoring on the night, TAA almost conceded a winner to City winner, as he was found out at the back. In general, the full-back was disappointing in defence, failing to track opposition attackers' runs.
On his Vibe with Five podcast (as per ECHO). Ferdinand bemoaned that Alexander-Arnold is forgetting the basics of defending at the cost of being enterprising up front:
"Listen, on the ball he does things we've rarely seen from a full-back, his passing, his range over varying distances. He can give you however you want it - curled, drilled, fade it, the lot. Just have that same intensity defensively.
Ferdinand added about Alexander-Arnold:
"He gets the goal - that's unbelievable - but does he think that disguises a horrific defensive performance because, 'I got dribbled by seven times; I've not put my impact or imprint on him at all', or is it, 'I've just scored a goal,' and that's all he is thinking about?"
"I think he goes into the game thinking, 'what can I do to affect the game?' I don't think he spends much, if any time, thinking about defensive responsibilities. That's why you see fundamentals that aren't there at the moment."
Following the draw, City (29) slipped to second in the standings, a point behind leaders Arsenal. Meanwhile, Liverpool are third, a point behind the Cityzens.
"We want to be ready to give them a proper game, and that is what we did" - Trent Alexander-Arnold's boss Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was happy that his team took the game to City at the Etihad, where Pep Guardiola's men were on a 23-game winning run across competitions.
The hosts had the better chances to take all three points - including a Ruben Dias effort that was ruled out due to a foul in the build-up - but Klopp will take a hard-earned point.
The German had no qualms admitting that City were the better team on the night and were the likelier team to snatch a win (as per ESPN):
"Today we had a chance. I am not silly, if you ask who was more likely to win the game, it was City, obviously. We want to be ready to give them a proper game, and that is what we did."
Liverpool next take on LASK in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.