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Alexander-Arnold makes a point at City
Liverpool end defending champions’ winning run at home with late equaliser
Exactly how much Trent Alexander-Arnold’s goal will influence the championship race will be known in the months to come but what it did on Saturday was keep alive hopes of a three-way battle at the top. And show that Liverpool are on their way back.
The 80th minute goal cancelled Erling Haaland’s 50th Premier League strike that had put the defending champions ahead in the 27th minute. Saturday’s 1-1 draw was the first time in 24 games that league leaders City had dropped points at home since December 31, 2022. That’s a stat as ridiculous as Haaland getting to 50 goals in 48 games.
“It is no coincidence they win so many home games,” Juergen Klopp told the official broadcasters. The Liverpool manager praised City’s quality and fluidity and that they could have won. His team, with a new midfield, are “still in the process,” said Klopp. Precisely why this was “a very good point”.
Pep Guardiola too sounded satisfied. “That was an excellent performance,” he told BBC. I am really proud that after eight years we are still playing that way. We were really good in all departments and needed to be against an incredible team.”
Alexander-Arnold’s defensive shortcomings have been exploited by Vinicius Jr to give Real Madrid a Champions League. City tested him with Jeremy Doku, always a threat with his pace and control. Liverpool deciding to keep Mo Salah up the pitch meant that either Curtis Jones or Alexis Mac Allister would tag with Alexander-Arnold to deny City space on their left. Easier said than done with Doku and Bernardo Silva operating in that area and Nathan Ake creating an overload.
That Ake would provide the assist is proof of how high Pep Guardiola wants his team to play. It would have been enough had the left-side centre-back focused on his primary responsibility, the reason why he was preferred over Josko Gvardiol, which was to keep Mo Salah quiet. Ake aced that though City once needed a cynical challenge from Julian Alvarez to stop Salah.
Yet, when Alisson mispassed what looked like a goalkick aimed at Salah, Ake was there to produce his first assist of the season. Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai didn’t close down Ake, who then found Haaland. “In those situations, you pass the ball and he will do the rest,” said Ake, speaking to Michael Owen on television.
Between the Liverpool centre-backs, Haaland fired a left-footer and made Premier League history. To state that he is the fastest to 50 goals doesn’t quite cut it till it is mentioned that it has taken him 17 games fewer than Andy Cole, the previous record holder. It was Haaland’s first league goal against Liverpool.
Haaland made two early runs but the ball wasn’t played forward. In the 13th minute it was but the Norwegian’s first touch was heavy. In the second half, Haaland started a City counter-attack finding Julian Alvarez, who passed to Doku. The Belgian wide left played it back for Alvarez who blasted over.
Haaland also had a late header that went out and a stab, off a Doku prompt, saved by Alisson. “Maybe we missed the last pass a little bit,” said Guardiola.
But such is the aura around him that sometimes Haaland’s presence is enough. So focused was Alisson on getting past him that he missed Phil Foden. Possibly, Foden too was surprised by it and shot straight back to Alisson. It was a different story when Ederson, so much surer with passes, found Bernardo Silva and the ball reached Foden near the end of the first half. Foden let it zip but Alisson kept Liverpool in the game with a superb save.
City were slick at times and Liverpool patient but the game Klopp said the world would pay the most to watch didn’t rise to the lofty standards of what these teams have produced over the past five years. Alisson’s struggles with his passes were a surprise. As was Curtis Jones starting a City counter-attack. Or passing errors from Foden and Manuel Akanji, who was deemed to have pushed Alisson leading to a goal from Ruben Dias being disallowed.
The speed at which the equaliser happened though was proof why you couldn’t take your eye off for a second.
In less than 30 seconds after Doku had found Haaland, Liverpool drew level, the ball travelling from left to right and Cody Gakpo making a run that opened space for Alexander-Arnold to take one touch and score from a Salah pass. It had to be a snap shot as he knew he didn’t have time, said Alexander-Arnold, speaking to the official broadcasters. Klopp had introduced Gakpo and Luiz Diaz and both contributed to the goal that Alexander-Arnold celebrated with a finger on his lips.
