Liverpool performed well against Manchester City on Saturday and can be pleased with the point they earned at the Etihad.
But despite a number of strong performances from Jurgen Klopp’s players, most notably Trent Alexander-Arnold who dragged the Reds level 10 minutes from time with a superb strike, the Scouser has been on the receiving end of some bizarre criticism from Chris Sutton.
The 50-year-old has claimed the England international can’t defend and believes he was at fault for City’s opener during the 1-1 draw.
Sutton told It’s All Kicking Off (via Rousing The Kop): “I know everybody loves forward-thinking right-backs and nobody is disputing Trent Alexander-Arnold isn’t one of the most wonderful passers of the ball the Premier League has ever seen. But bottom line, you are right about Doku [giving him a torrid time] and can Alexander-Arnold defend? He can’t.
“He struggles. And actually, the goal that he scored, his positioning was so bad and you look at it in the first instance, he’s quite high up when he should drop, and Doku goes past Matip and Haaland has the deflected effort and Liverpool go up the other end.
“His goal is brilliant but there are both sides to the game. And are we looking for just ball-playing attacking full-backs? In one vs one situations that’s when you find out who is a really good defender.”
Our No. 66 has been praised by Virgil van Dijk following the game with the Netherlands international claiming the right back is the ‘complete package’.
It’s almost as if Sutton is purposely attempting to be controversial.
Jeremy Doku is a seriously talented player but Alexander-Arnold defended pretty well against the winger all afternoon and was the hero for his side with a late leveller.
There’s no doubt that the 25-year-old, who Klopp labelled as ‘super influential’ recently (via Irish Independent), can tighten up the defensive side of his game but he receives far more criticism than he deserves.
He’s a world-class talent and someone who has reinvented the full-back role since making his debut back in 2016.
The Academy graduates long-term future may lie in midfield but he’s doing a superb job at the moment in his current inverted role.