Rio Ferdinand explained why he’s constantly infuriated when he watches one Liverpool player in action.
Trent Alexander-Arnold rescued a point for the Reds with his late equaliser away to Manchester City on Saturday, but he continues to face questions over the defensive side of his game, with Chris Sutton admonishing him in that regard over the past couple of days.
The ex-Manchester United centre-back was also critical of the 25-year-old over the apparently passive nature of his defending and condemned the West Derby native over his body position when facing opposition wingers one-on-one.
Speaking on his eponymous YouTube channel, Ferdinand said of Trent: “I just look at him and think, on the ball he does things that we’ve rarely seen from a full-back with the ball. His passing, his range over varying distances, he can give it to you how you want it, curl it, drill it, the lot. Just have that same intensity defensively.
“This is the thing that maddens me. I’ve seen him do it. I always go back to the game when [Leroy] Sane at [Manchester] City was on fire. He comes to Anfield, Trent locks him down one-v-one. Doesn’t go by him.
“Even the goal the other day against City, he scores, but I look at their goal and think he should’ve done a lot better in that position against [Nathan] Ake.”
Ferdinand continued: “I just don’t understand it. It just looks like there’s a passiveness to when he has to defend. There’s no intensity.
“Even when he goes in to engage a winger, I don’t see that soft bending of the knees ready to accelerate and explode, ready for a one-v-one. He goes in like he’s forgotten about the fundamentals of defending in one-v-one situations.”
Admittedly there are times when Trent can defend certain situations better, with Erling Haaland’s goal on Saturday indeed springing to mind, but it now just seems like an easy, lazy getout for pundits to accuse him of being a poor defender.
Yes, his tackle success rate (31.3%) can be better, but his tally of 11 interceptions in the Premier League this season is the third-highest in the Liverpool squad (FBref), so it’s not as if he has no idea of how to stop opposition attackers.
Also, considering what the 25-year-old offers going forward, Jurgen Klopp will accept the ‘risk and reward’ nature of the number 66’s game so long as the player isn’t completely neglecting his defensive duties.
You can view Ferdinand’s comments on Trent below (from 2:43), via Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE on YouTube: