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Liverpool manager Arne Slot has condemned Trent Alexander-Arnold’s overblown criticism as he praised his vice-captain’s response to last week’s performance against Manchester United.
Alexander-Arnold endured a difficult day against United a week ago, but a world-class goal in Liverpool’s 4-0 FA Cup win over Accrington Stanley was a reminder of his talents.
Slot took the opportunity to hit back at those he said went overboard in singling out the right-back after the 2-2 draw against United.
“The biggest compliment Trent could receive was everyone’s reaction after the Manchester United game,” Slot said.
“Every player in the world, maybe with the exception of a few, has a bad game and that’s completely normal. But as soon as Trent has one, everyone has an opinion about it.
“Maybe it’s because of the contract situation. I don’t know if it wasn’t there if people would have reacted the same way. But the biggest compliment you can give is if you have such a good first half of the season and you don’t play a good game against United – and that was clear to me, to you, the fans and the analysts who saw the game – but many of them were pretty harsh on him. And this is perhaps the greatest compliment you can receive?
Slot said he wanted Alexander-Arnold to play again at Anfield to get last week out of his system.
“I think it was important (to start him), but the (main) reason to play him was that Conor Bradley was coming back from a hamstring injury and two days ago he played his first minutes against Tottenham,” he said.
“I think we don’t really know how our flight went that evening. We couldn’t land in Liverpool, so we went to Birmingham and got back very late. And for me, it It was too risky to play against a player who had a hamstring problem for a few weeks and who only returned two days ago.
“The only other full-back available is Trent. Thanks to his game, I think it was good for him to play in our own stadium and feel the welcome from the fans again. It was already fantastic against Tottenham. So I think today was special again and that can only help him and us. If you want to do special things this season, you can do it together, not only with the players, the manager but also with the fans. I could talk for hours about its purpose. Amazing.”
Accrington Stanley manager John Doolan paid his own tribute to Alexander-Arnold as he spoke to the player he once coached after the match.
“I said before the game that I coached Trent when he was six or seven and I don’t know if he remembers that. Diane, her mom would probably remember it because she used to take her to workouts,” Doolan said.
“At the end of the match, I didn’t see Trent. I walked over to our fans and he came up behind me in flip flops and a big coat and just said “I remember.” Then we just started chatting like I was only talking to him last week.
“He’s such a wonderful, humble guy. He is a high level player. Doing this shows the class he has.
Doolan also revealed how Liverpool allowed his team to use the Premier League club’s training facilities ahead of their tie as icy conditions had made it difficult for the League Two side to prepare.
“Our players now have memories for the rest of their lives. I told the young players after the game: ‘This is what you want, this is where you want to be,'” he said.
