Trent Alexander-Arnold has had the ideal preparation…

Trent Alexander-Arnold has had the ideal preparation for Liverpool's Champions League nemesis

With Liverpool previously winless in their last four league games, any victory in the Merseyside derby would have been most welcome. There were many aspects of the match which will have pleased Jurgen Klopp though.

His team had their highest win percentage for duels in a Premier League match this season (and best against a team not called Rangers). The Reds’ counter attacking was also in fine working order, with the key partnership of Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah combining to break the deadlock.

But arguably most important of all was the word nil next to the word Everton in the scoreline. By shutting out the Blues, Liverpool collected just their sixth clean sheet of the league campaign. Only in 1992/93 (three) and 2004/05 (five) has the club had fewer after 21 games in the Premier League era. If this campaign is to end in European glory in Istanbul as the latter season did, a few more opposition blanks will be needed.

In truth, Everton offered very little. Per Understat, only Bournemouth have generated a lower expected goal total against the Reds in the league this season. Yet despite the paucity of threat from the Blues, James Tarkowski hit the post while Tom Davies had an Opta-defined big chance late on.

The latter moment was manna from heaven for the huge number of pundits and (mostly rival) fans who believe Trent Alexander-Arnold is a defensive liability. Alex Iwobi’s cross from the right flank went over the Liverpool defender’s head at the back post, which provided Davies with a very presentable opportunity.

There’s no doubt the Reds’ right-back could have dealt with the situation more effectively. But it also acts as powerful confirmation bias for the naysayers, with Alexander-Arnold chastised for every slip up when any fine defensive work goes largely unnoticed.

The 24-year-old had a running battle with Dwight McNeil throughout the 78 minutes the Everton winger spent on the Anfield pitch on Monday. He tried to dribble past Alexander-Arnold on six occasions and was only successful once. Even then, it was in the Blues’ half and he was heading towards their goal. At the business end of the pitch, the Liverpool man had an unblemished record.

And this needs to be put into context. McNeil completed 90 take-ons last season, the sixth most of any player in England, France, Germany, Italy or Spain (per FBRef), and he did so while playing for a Burnley side who were relegated. He was only five shy of the total posted by Vinicius Junior, another elite dribbler with whom Alexander-Arnold will soon come face-to-face.

Six take-ons from all opposition players, never mind one, is way more than Trent normally faces too. He has averaged 2.7 attempted tackles per 90 minutes in his Premier League career, and the match against Everton was his first for exactly two years (since a 3-1 loss at Leicester) in which he was successful with five.

While not at his peak in 2022/23, Alexander-Arnold has only been successful with a greater proportion of his attempted take-on tackles in one of the last four campaigns too. Add in that he hasn’t made an Opta-defined defensive error in the league since the final day of 2020/21, and it’s fair to question if the almost continual criticism is too much.

Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma recently described Alexander-Arnold as one of his toughest opponents, while Klopp has defended his right-back’s defending in the past and will no doubt have to again. “I've said it already before but if there are one or two things [claiming] Trent cannot defend, then I am sorry, you have no idea about football,” he said after a win at Arsenal last year. A few more performances like the one he delivered in the derby and perhaps the narrative can finally shift in Alexander-Arnold’s favour.

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