While Liverpool played reasonably well in the first half of their FA Cup victory over Cardiff City, their finishing deserted them.
They put that problem to bed after the interval and the source of their opening goal won’t have surprised anyone who has watched the Reds in the last few weeks.
Trent Alexander-Arnold provided the assist, just as he had for the first goal in the recent wins against Brentford and Arsenal.
It was the sixth time the Liverpool right-back has created the deadlock-breaking goal in 2021/22, and the third of those where Diogo Jota has been the grateful recipient. They’ve got quite a partnership going.
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His assist against the Bluebirds also took Alexander-Arnold to a significant landmark, as it was his 15 th of the season in all competitions.
This matches the total with which he finished both 2018/19 and the campaign which followed. Champions League and Premier League winning seasons, in other words.
No other Liverpool player has set up 15 goals since Roberto Firmino assisted 16 in 2017/18, and that matched the three best seasons Steven Gerrard had on the creativity front.
The now Aston Villa manager’s best tally has only been topped twice by a Red in the Premier League era, and Alexander-Arnold stands a serious chance of setting a new benchmark.
While it might seem Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson have redefined the creative possibilities of a full-back, Stig Inge Bjornebye assisted 17 goals in 1996/97 (albeit as a wing-back in Roy Evans’ 3-5-2 formation).
And the record was set 12 months earlier when Steve McManaman created 20 goals. Coincidentally, his 15 th came in an FA Cup match in February of that season, just as Trent’s did against Cardiff.
McManaman made a further 17 appearances after that in 1995/96, and while we can’t be sure how many Alexander-Arnold will get, it could easily be more.
Liverpool have at least 20 matches left to play, with 16 in the league, a Champions League double header with Inter Milan and two more domestic cup games on their schedule.
Injury permitting, Jurgen Klopp would expect to deploy his first choice right-back in the majority of those fixtures.
It’s Leicester up next for the Reds, and with the issues they have with defending set plays, don’t be surprised if Alexander-Arnold picks up another assist on Thursday night.
Dead ball situations or not, Liverpool’s number 66 retains an ability to deliver pinpoint crosses in open play which are manna from heaven for the likes of Jota.
But a tactical tweak which Klopp has made this season has meant that Alexander-Arnold has also been able to set up goals through his sublime passing ability.
In a recent article on The Athletic, Trent highlighted his assist for Sadio Mane against Burnley as his stand out moment of the season.
He provided that pass from within an area of the pitch known as the half-space. This is the zone directly in front of the penalty area, but outside the width of the six yard box.
Alexander-Arnold has also created goals against Arsenal (from a set piece) and Chelsea from the half-space this term.
However, as his shift to this zone has been discussed at length, arguably more interesting is that he has also set up four league goals from within the right side of the penalty area itself.
They have occurred in some big games too. From there, Alexander-Arnold assisted the opener for Mohamed Salah at Elland Road, plus goals against Manchester United (scored by Jota), Arsenal (Takumi Minamino) and Tottenham (Robertson).
Highly valued players such as Bruno Fernandes, Harry Kane and Riyad Mahrez have three assists in league matches among England’s big six clubs since the start of 2019/20, where Trent has three from a specific zone on the pitch this season alone.
And leaving aside the quality of opponent faced, Alexander-Arnold got a total of four league assists from the right side of the penalty box across the last three seasons.
He was already the Premier League’s record holder for assists by a defender in a single season, and Klopp’s tactical switch – combined with the player’s natural improvement from development and experience – means he has moved up another level this season.
McManaman is unlikely to hold his modern era club record for too much longer.
