Jurgen Klopp has admitted Liverpool had a plan to deal with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in Tuesday night’s victory over Napoli after praising Trent Alexander-Arnold’s performance against the in-form winger.
The 21-year-old has been in sensational form since joining the Italians this summer, returning eight goals and 10 assists from his first 16 appearances. And while the Georgia international was unable to add to such totals at Anfield, he set tongues wagging with an eye-catching performance.
And while Klopp acknowledged Kvaratskhelia got the better of Alexander-Arnold on one or two occasions, he was played with his right-back, whose form has been criticised for the majority of the season, for how he rose to the occasion.
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“He (Kvaratskhelia) is a good player, both are good players,” he said. “It was a really difficult one. I know people will talk about one or two situations with Trent when he tried to get in front of him and the ball goes through.
“He is really good, the boy. Really quick, we have to defend it well together in these moments. When he has the advantage of the first moment, then he is already gone.
“You have to try to be there in the moment when the ball arrives. If you cannot to do that, you need to be protected because he has speed.
“He is cheeky, he can go inside, he goes outside, that always makes him difficult. A good player.
“Trent played a really good game against him, was really on fire. Didn’t get frustrated by one or two situations where he was second-best. Stayed in the game. I liked Trent’s game tonight.”
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