Roy Keane savages Alexander-Arnold during Liverpool draw v Manchester United
Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold was savaged by Roy Keane as Liverpool drew 2-2 with Manchester United at Anfield.
The Reds had the opportunity to go eight points above Arsenal with a win on Sunday (5 January) but fell behind to a Lisandro Martinez strike in the 52nd minute before a Cody Gakpo’s effort and a Mohamed Salah penalty turned it around.
Amad Diallo levelled the contest late on and Alexander-Arnold, who has been linked with a free transfer move to Real Madrid, struggled defensively against the Red Devils.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ broadcast of the clash at half-time, former United star Keane was not impressed with Alexander-Arnold’s defensive effort, saying: “Trent’s defending, it’s like schoolboy stuff… talking about going to Real Madrid, he’ll go to Tranmere Rovers after this.”
Alexander-Arnold struggles in Liverpool draw
There is no debate that Alexander-Arnold is one of the best players in world football with the ball at his feet and would be very hard to replace.
However, his defensive ability has been debated for years with many observers believing that he should not play for the England national team in big tournaments at right-back as a result.
While it is an exaggerated narrative and he is nowhere near as bad defensively as some would claim, he does have moments where he gets caught out and is found too far up the pitch leaving Ibrahima Konate to clean up his mistakes.
That happened numerous times in the Anfield clash with Diogo Dalot enjoying a lot of success against the 26-year-old and was a factor in both United goals.
Against Ruben Amorim’s side, he won zero out of four ground duels that he contested as he struggled to impose himself on the contest when United had the ball and was eventually booked in the 83rd minute then hooked for Conor Bradley just a few minutes later.
While Keane’s comments are over the top, Madrid will have been watching with some concern although what he can do with the ball overrides any defensive issues.
In other Liverpool news, a Sky Sports pundit has suggested that Mo Salah will sign a new contract at Anfield soon.
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