Steve Nicol claims Trent Alexander-Arnold showed no ‘commitment’ in Monday’s defeat at Manchester United – adding the rest of Liverpool's defence can no longer cover for his weakness.
A lacklustre Reds lost 2-1 at Old Trafford after goals from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford propelled Erik Ten Hag’s side into a 2-0 lead, with Mohamed Salah’s header nothing more than a consolation. Jurgen Klopp’s team were constantly exposed down their right-hand side with Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez enduring a torrid evening – as did Virgil van Dijk alongside them.
The England international right-back has been questioned over his defensive qualities over the last few seasons, but Reds boss Klopp has mitigated the vulnerability with adequate cover behind – with Alexander-Arnold’s attacking influence far outweighing the problems further back. But a woeful performance across the back-four against Manchester United has once again put the 23-year-old under the microscope, with one of his predecessors at right-back, Nicol, at the forefront of the criticism.
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“We're not telling Klopp anything he doesn't know,” Nicol told ESPN FC following the game. “But what Klopp is doing is he's basically saying to himself ‘you know what we get so much from this kid going forward that we're gonna have to take on the chin what he doesn't have defensively'.
“And that was OK when the other three were at their best. They made up for him. But it's every game now, there's problems down that side and they're finding it hard to cover for him now. Nobody has been able to cover for him. He can't do it.
“I mean you saw his attempt to try and deal with a one-two, there wasn't any commitment in it whatsoever. He jogged back into the middle of the park. Now had he sprinted into the penalty box, he might have actually got a challenge on Sancho but he didn't, he walked.
“Defending is not his forte. We know it, Klopp knows it but Klopp is prepared to take the negative because of what he gets going forward.”
The defeat means Liverpool are now winless from their opening three Premier League games – their worst start in 10 years – and seven points off Arsenal at the top of the table. But despite the slow start and glaring defensive problems, 60-year-old Nicol has backed Klopp’s side to kick on and make the top-four – although he admitted his concern for another title challenge.
“You can't turn around and say they're not going to make it into the top four,” he added when asked about a title push. “It's a little concerning. It's one thing to lose a game by being unfortunate, it's another to lose a game and have a lot of the fundamentals so badly wrong.
“The things I'm talking about, defensively in particular. Can you imagine Haaland running in behind that backline? Holy smokes. Talk about worrying. But once they get the basics sorted out, they've got talent can't argue with that. So they've got to sort the basics out and quickly.”
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