Jurgen Klopp has launched a defence of Trent Alexander-Arnold after the Liverpool right-back’s performance against Tottenham drew some harsh criticism.
Liverpool picked up their first away win of the Premier League season in north London on Sunday evening after Mohamed Salah’s goals secured a 2-1 win over Spurs. Salah’s double sent them into the break with a comfortable lead before Harry Kane halved the deficit with a smart finish.
Tottenham pushed hard for an equaliser, and struck the woodwork twice through Ivan Perisic, but could not break through for a second time. Alexander-Arnold was involved in a lot of the action up against the lively Perisic and survived a strong claim for a penalty after a shoulder barge on Ryan Sessegnon.
Klopp was delighted with Liverpool’s victory and gave a detailed assessment of his full-back’s performance. Asked by Sky Sports whether Alexander-Arnold had a mixed bag, he replied: “For sure. His diagonals are from a different planet, I would say. That’s unbelievable and we obviously could have done with these balls even more than we did.
“It’s really difficult with four at the back to defend in these games. It’s only possible with support because first half it was Sessegnon then Perisic – he can cross with the left foot like he can with the right foot and he’s a threat in the air as well. So that’s a lot to consider as a defender.
“There’s only one chance because you have to move to the ball side as well because they might pass the ball through and the next moment, bang, it’s a long one.
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"You have a 10-metre run-up and then you have one challenge in a pretty big space. You have to hope that the midfielder is helping you. I thought he had a really good game, but it’s tricky for the full-backs.”
Salah was key to securing Liverpool’s win following successive league defeats. The Egyptian put the visitors ahead early on with a sharp finish from Darwin Nunez’s pass and he sent them in at half-time 2-0 up after pouncing on a shocking mistake from Eric Dier to chip Hugo Lloris.
As they often are, Tottenham were much better in the second half, with Perisic threatening on two occasions before Kane reduced the arrears by finding the bottom corner from Dejan Kulusevski’s pass, but Antonio Conte’s side couldn’t find an equaliser.
“I think we were lucky in the first half, we played quite good and managed to score two goals. In the second half we could've scored but were unlucky,” Salah told Sky Sports.
"We did well to get the three points. It is always a tough opponent. I'm focused on making a difference and managed to do so today. We managed to strike back a few times in the season, have played some good games."
