MANCHESTER, United Kingdom, Jan 10 – Liverpool manager Arne Slot says he recognises patterns in the goals his side concede – but they are not down to right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Alexander-Arnold was heavily criticised following the Reds being held to a 2-2 draw by Manchester United on Sunday.
United scored their first through Lisandro Martinez with an attack down Liverpool’s right and their second came from Amad Diallo converting a cross from the right.
According to football statisticians Opta, Liverpool’s opponents are having 44% of their touches in the left third in the attacking areas – this would be Liverpool’s right-hand side – which is the highest ratio in the Premier League.
The percentage of opposition chances from Liverpool’s right is 35.7% while it is 38.1% from the middle third and 26.2% from the Reds’ left.
“I do see a certain pattern in the goals we concede but I don’t see the pattern if it is about Trent. Not at all,” said Slot.
“Trent has had one difficult game for us [in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Anfield] and maybe a few that were OK to good. Mainly, he has had great games when he played for us this season.”
Alexander-Arnold, who is out of contract in the summer and has been linked with a move to Real Madrid, came on as a substitute after an hour in the first leg of Liverpool’s Carabao Cup semi-final at Tottenham.
The England international had a shot cleared off the line in a game the Reds lost 1-0.
“I know there is a lot of focus on him at the moment but I would also like to highlight the focus on how well he did when he came on in the last half hour [against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday] and how our fans reacted to him. That is what pleased me even more during that game.”
Liverpool host Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup third round on Saturday (12:15 GMT) and, while Slot is expected to rotate his squad for the game, he knows his team will have to be prepared for the challenge of facing the League Two side.
“I think every team that plays against us, it is a special occasion but especially for a lower league team,” said the Dutchman.
“They will be up for it, they have looked forward to this game for many weeks.
“If you go to a Champions League final, everyone is completely hyped up and ready and, for them, that will feel like it is the Champions League final, so we have to be aware of that.
“It’s up to us to be ready for them wanting to play the best game of their lives and that is what we have to do as well.”
