1 year ago
188 Pundit Steve Sidwell was left very disappointed by Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold after a difficult start to the match against Brighton.
Sidwell was commentating on the match for BBC 5 Live as the Seagulls took a well-deserved lead at the Amex.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and Brighton coach Roberto De Zerbi have both come into his match managing a squad that played in Europe on Thursday.
The Reds saw out a comfortable win over Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise, while Brighton earned a famous draw with French giants Marseille.
Liverpool’s team looked as strong as it possibly could be considering the bans picked up by Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones against Tottenham.
There was also a return to the starting line-up in the league for Trent Alexander-Arnold after a hamstring issue.
He’s one of the club’s most important players both going forward and in preventing attacks.
However, Steve Sidwell wasn’t very impressed with Alexander-Arnold after he failed to deliver at a key opportunity in the first half.
The 25-year-old is one of the best crossers of a ball in the Premier League but looked a bit rusty at the beginning of the game.
Sidwell unimpressed with Alexander-Arnold in first-half vs Brighton
In the early stages of the match, Alexander-Arnold put a poor cross into the box from a free-kick.
It was then cleared to Dominik Szoboszlai who had a shot from 30 yards but his effort deflected away for a throw-in.
After watching the England international’s attempted cross, Sidwell said: “Really poor quality there from Trent Alexander-Arnold.
“We know what he possesses in those dead-ball situations as well.
“It was a chance for Liverpool to apply a little bit of pressure [and] then, get a good ball into the Brighton box.”
“They certainly have huge height in [Joel] Matip and [Virgil] Van Dijk that can get on the end of his crosses.”
Alexander-Arnold had the task of facing Brighton star Kaoru Mitoma today but Sidwell was more disappointed with his attacking output than his defensive work.
The academy graduate looks set to sign a new deal at the club despite interest from Barcelona.
His quality is obvious but the entire Liverpool team looked off the pace in the first 40 minutes today.
Suddenly, they sprung into life with Mohamed Salah finding the back of the net after some sloppiness at the back, before converting a penalty on the cusp of half-time.
Jurgen Klopp will be pleased with how the half has ended but will be worried about how slowly his side started.
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