The right-back is being reinvented as a quarterback but there was no need to alter part of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s game. An unconventional full-back is part midfielder now but the Merseysider has long been Liverpool’s set-piece specialist.
That ability can be invaluable, regardless of his starting position, and, along with Nottingham Forest’s ineptitude at defending from dead-ball situations, proved decisive. Forest had equalised for the second time when Alexander-Arnold whipped in a free kick, Mohamed Salah escaped from Remo Freuler and touched in his 27th goal of the season.
It was Alexander-Arnold’s fourth assist in three games. It is scarcely an exaggeration to say it could have been his fourth of the afternoon. It was an illustration of his threat and an indictment of Forest. After conceding three times from set-pieces – with Andy Robertson’s free kick bringing Diogo Jota’s second goal – only Bournemouth have been breached more often from such situations. If Forest end up as deadwood in the drop zone, it will be in part due to dead balls.
But Alexander-Arnold showed mastery. A technician who can find teammates twice picked out Virgil van Dijk, who failed to connect properly, and then had a header tipped over, and once pinpointed another Dutchman, Cody Gakpo, when Neco Williams cleared his volley off the line. Each was from a corner; the oddity was that when Alexander-Arnold set up a goal from one, the man he initially found was a Forest player. But Moussa Niakhate only chested the ball to Fabinho, who headed it back across the six-yard box for Jota to pounce.
That did not count towards Alexander-Arnold’s personal statistics. Liverpool’s winner did and, after bringing up 50 Premier League assists at Elland Road on Monday, he ought to become the first defender to reach a century in the division; if that, is, his role is described as a defender by then.
But after he set up Roberto Firmino’s equaliser against Arsenal and two goals at Elland Road, Alexander-Arnold is starting to power Liverpool’s April revival. So is Jota. After no goals in 32 games, the Portugal forward has four in two. A double-double followed a barren year for Jota and it took a fine save from Keylor Navas, clawing away a looping header, to deny him a hat-trick.
His elusiveness in the box has long defined Jota at his best. His drought ended, he is starting to pop up unchecked. His sharpness was shown by his second: he ghosted in to meet Robertson’s delivery and produced three sublime touches, with his chest, his knee and then a left-foot volley.
Factor in Salah’s fourth strike in three matches and Liverpool had nine second-half goals in their last three games alone. They are finishing matches strongly. They need to do likewise for the season. Perhaps, like Jota and Alexander-Arnold, they can put a troubled campaign behind them to exert a devastating effect in the run-in. They don’t face any of the top four in the remaining games. They couldn’t, could they?
This lent itself to various conclusions. The nervous defending as Forest chased an equaliser scarcely inspired confidence. The second part of the scoreline was damning of Liverpool. Forest had not scored twice in an away game in the Premier League since 1999. They came to Anfield with just five goals on the road all season. Yet even as they got 28 per cent of their strikes away from the City Ground in the space of 17 minutes, they could rue their inability to add another when Taiwo Awoniyi’s overhead kick just cleared the bar and substitute Brennan Johnson’s lob hit it. Instead, they departed with a sixth successive away defeat.
They had shown a spirit that belies a return of just three points from their last 11 matches. They levelled twice. Williams made an eventful first return to Anfield since his £17m transfer. He followed a goal-line clearance with a goal, though his 20-yard drive needed a sizeable deflection off Robertson to beat Alisson.
Then it was Morgan Gibbs-White’s turn. His goals have been rarities since his club-record move from Wolves but when Felipe flicked on a Niakhate long throw, his volley deflected off Ibrahima Konate and Alexander-Arnold. If Forest struggled to defend from free kicks and corners, Liverpool looked susceptible to Niakhate’s long throws as the match took on a different shape. After a forgettable first half, when Jurgen Klopp’s side had 86 per cent of possession but did too little with it in open play, there was a frenetic second, with five goals in 25 minutes.
The pertinent part was that Forest had ample warning of Alexander-Arnold’s menace from set plays, and of their own inability to cope with them. They did not heed them. And so, on a day when Forest had golden chances, their wait for a win at Anfield, which dates back to 1969, went on. Their first trip here for a quarter of a century has the potential to prove their last for quite some time.
