Chief playmaker Alexander-Arnold is back
Plenty has been said about Trent Alexander-Arnold this season, with the England international ultimately one of a number of Liverpool players not as their best.
Scrutiny regarding his defensive abilities has grown louder and louder, with a mid-season World Cup and the debate regarding his England place admittedly an unwanted distraction.
Meanwhile, his attacking returns have been nowhere near their previous rate. Boasting 18 assists last season as the Reds so nearly landed an unprecedented quadruple, he amazingly failed to record any before the break for the World Cup.
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And even heading into Liverpool’s trip to Newcastle, the right-back had only officially registered two assists this season. Yet that doesn’t tell the full story.
Credited for setting up Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain against Brentford and Darwin Nunez against Wolves at Anfield in the FA Cup, it was Alexander-Arnold’s cross that led Wout Faes’ first own goal in the Reds’ 2-1 victory over Leicester City in December. Meanwhile, his assist for Cody Gakpo’s goal against Everton on Monday night was taken off him courtesy of a deflection.
Yet there was no taking his latest assist off him at St. James’ Park as he set up Nunez’s opener with an inch-perfect lofted pass forward. Such a pass did not come in isolation, with Liverpool’s chief playmaker back to his creative best and the Reds’ best player against Newcastle.
Hungry to get forward at every opportunity, he supported Mohamed Salah repeatedly and whipped in a number of great passes and crosses, with his total of four key passes was the highest of his team-mates. This has increasingly been the case again in recent weeks.
And while his critics will still pick holes in his defending, he played a vital role in Liverpool keeping a clean sheet against Newcastle. Up against the pace and trickery of Alan Saint-Maximin, while the forward was a nuisance at times, Liverpool’s right-back managed him well.
Alexander-Arnold will always be the subject of debate, there is no escaping that. Ultimately football fans will always be in disagreement about his strengths and weaknesses as a player and a defender. But at least we can all agree that the right-back is no longer a player out of form.
Van Dijk returns after break that may have been a boost
When Liverpool faced Real Madrid in last year’s Champions League final, Virgil van Dijk went into it cold. Forced off injury against Chelsea in the FA Cup final, he sat out a trip to former club Southampton before an unused substitute appearance against Wolves on the final day of the season.
Such preparations for the biggest game in club football were always far from ideal. At least when the Reds lock horns with Carlo Ancelotti’s men again on Tuesday, the same can’t be said.
Forced off with a hamstring injury against Brentford last month, Van Dijk made his playing return against Newcastle as he helped Liverpool make it back-to-back clean sheets. Admittedly a little rusty at times against the Magpies, he was at least a magnet in the box when it came to clearing crosses and stifling the host’s attacks.
The 31-year-old hasn’t been at his best this season and will be the first to admit that. A mid-season World Cup hasn’t helped on that front.
But given how often the Reds have been stung by injury this season, perhaps this time it has actually proven to be a little helpful.
Van Dijk remains one of the first names on Klopp’s teamsheet, and rightly so. It’s why it was no surprise to see him thrown straight into the starting XI when the German declared him ready to start in Friday’s pre-match press conference.
But his schedule over the past 18 months following his return from that serious ACL injury has perhaps taken its toll. At least his month on the sidelines has taken Van Dijk out of that firing line.
Now refreshed and back to full fitness, he is back to marshall Liverpool’s top four charge. Given the Reds’ defensive failings at times this season, his return hasn’t come a moment too soon.
Top four charge is on
For as poor as Liverpool have been at times this season, their victory over Newcastle United was their tenth of the Premier League campaign. Such a total is equal to the Magpies.
Results on Saturday ultimately went their way at Brentford, Brighton, and Chelsea all dropped points, with Fulham the only side around them in the table to win. In reality, these won’t be the sides Klopp’s men are aiming to compete with in the table come May.
Up to eighth in the table, and behind Brighton only on goals scored, Liverpool have games in hand on Fulham and Tottenham ahead of them - both of whom still have to come to Anfield.
But more importantly, Saturday’s win leaves them just six points off Newcastle United and the top four. With the Magpies not in Premier League action next weekend because of the League Cup final, and the Reds playing twice courtesy of their game-in-hand with Wolves on March 1, Liverpool can eradicate their deficit entirely before Eddie Howe’s side return to league action away at Man City next month.
Completing a league double over Newcastle, the Reds remain the only side to have beaten the Magpies in the Premier League this season. Looking up the table, after back-to-back wins and clean sheets, they now have every reason to be confident.
For as poor as Liverpool were in January, suffering heavy defeats to Brentford, Brighton, and Wolves, they remained in the hunt. While Kopites might not have realised it at the time, reluctant to look at the league table off the back of each disappointing display, the Reds are still in Champions League contention.
They’ve been in this position before of course, finishing third against the odds in 2020/21. Now having beaten Newcastle, the race for top four is well and truly on.
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