In keeping with the quasi-apocalyptic feel of 2021, two fortresses have now fallen inside a week. First came the Gabba where at least the Indian cricket team seemed more likely conquerors than Burnley, who delivered a shock 1-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield in a game Jurgen Klopp described as “impossible to lose”.
The champions’ long unbeaten run of 68 Premier League games at home, which stretched back to April 2017’s defeat to Crystal Palace, is over.
It has been coming too, the culmination of a failure to win a league match since before Christmas, stumbling into draws with West Brom, Newcastle and Manchester United, and losing to Southampton.
Even the 4-1 victory over Aston Villa’s youngsters in the FA Cup required Klopp to deploy more firepower after 16-year-old Louie Barry’s equaliser.
On many occasions, Klopp has been forced to go on the attack in order to defend the misfiring Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, none of whom have scored a league goal since 27 December.
The spotlight is falling on Trent Alexander-Arnold too, the right-back breaking an unwelcome Premier League record over the past five seasons (in fact, it was his own record) by failing to find a teammate with any of his 18 crosses from open play on Thursday night.
The 22-year-old, like much of this Liverpool side, is encountering his first real crisis of form. At the halfway stage of the Premier League season, he has two assists and no goals from his 16 starts. He is nowhere near on course to match his tally from the 2019-20 campaign in which he registered 13 assists and scored four goals.
These are the metrics by which he and Andy Robertson are often judged, even by each other, perhaps perversely given their defensive position. For Alexander-Arnold, though, it is the crux of his game, the factor that excuses his occasional blips in positional awareness, as he was guilty of when Danny Ings scored the winner in the Southampton game.
In that match alone, he conceded possession an astonishing 38 times – at that stage, the most of any Premier League player in a single game this season. That feat was beaten against Burnley, again by Alexander-Arnold himself. He gave the ball away 39 times.
Where has Alexander-Arnold gone wrong?
The calf injury in the 1-1 draw with Manchester City appears to have made things worse, but it happened on 8 November. Alexander-Arnold was not at his peak before that, nor was his absence all that prolonged; he was back by 6 December, having missed four games.
The England international ought not to be unrecognisable then, from the full-back who was arguably the world’s best in his position over the previous two seasons.
Nor has his game changed all that much. According to the Premier League’s official statistics, he is on course to match his 2019-20 totals for passes per game, accurate long balls and cross accuracy. Only in two other key areas is he falling noticeably short – in the number of crosses and big chances created.
One of his two assists this season came in the 7-0 win over Crystal Palace, setting up Jordan Henderson to score from the edge of the area with a pass of no more than a few yards. Fewer of his contributions are coming from out wide, perhaps a reflection of the changing dynamics of this Liverpool side.
Before the Gabba was penetrated, it was Tim Paine who chirped away in its defence from behind the stumps. In the Anfield tunnel, Klopp could be found trying to muster a similar defiance against Sean Dyche, while he has also had to bat away harsh criticisms aimed at Thiago Alcantara from former Liverpool heroes John Barnes and Dietmar Hamann.
Alexander-Arnold’s season by numbers
- Premier League appearances: 16 (1)
- Goals: 0
- Assists: 4(2 Premier League, 2 Champions League)
- Big chances created: 3
- Crosses: 136
- Crossing accuracy: 19 per cent
- Passing accuracy: 80.2 per cent
The accusation is that Thiago slows Liverpool down and the midfielder is an obvious scapegoat given that he is the only really notable change to their XI since they reigned over the top flight so convincingly.
Whether there is any truth in that, the 29-year-old’s presence does ensure more concentration of the ball in the middle of the pitch, where Alexander-Arnold is not to be found.
The counter-argument to that, of course, is that Robertson’s performances have not dipped in the same way – though the left-back has not had the same mix of injuries and low confidence as his counterpart on the right.
Alexander-Arnold’s stats appear to be a symptom of Liverpool’s malaise, rather than the cause of it, but his poor form is being compounded by a looming sense of crisis as Klopp’s side loosen the collective grip on their Premier League crown.
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from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3c23PkU
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