Micah Richards has stated that Trent Alexander-Arnold needs to ‘sort out’ his defending after Vinicius Junior’s goal was the difference during Liverpool’s Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid.
The TV pundit added that he ‘knew before the game’ that Liverpool’s attack-minded right-back was going to be in for a ‘tough’ evening against Vinicius, as he told CBS Sports on Paramount+ (28/05/22 at 11:15 pm).
In the first half, Madrid, and Vinicius especially, didn’t have much joy going forward, as the Reds dominated the game.
But, things changed in the second, with Madrid being more forward-thinking and managing the game a lot better.
That’s where Vinicius ghosted at the far post to slot home and score the only goal of the game on the biggest domestic stage of them all – Sergio Ramos praised his former side for their efforts.
Richards played at right-back for most parts of his career, as he explained what Alexander-Arnold did wrong during that moment.
“I knew before the game it was going to be tough,” said Richards. “Not because I don’t think Alexander-Arnold is a good enough defender.
“It’s just the positions that he is in because he is so attacking at times. He is actually in a decent position to start with – he has one little look, but as soon as the ball goes, his body position, if he turned the other way, then he might have been able to adapt.
“As soon as the play materialises, he’s not looked. Van Dijk doesn’t help him. He has two men there. And then Trent is just napping at the back post.
“His game is so good going forward, if he can sort this out, get this out of his game, then he can be one of the best.”
DEFENDING JIBES WON’T GO AWAY FOR ALEXANDER-ARNOLD
One label that has continually been thrown at Alexander-Arnold is that he can’t defend and struggles with that part of the game. – Alan Shearer was also critical of him in France’s capital.
The issue he has is that last night’s game in Paris isn’t going to help push those critics away.
This isn’t a major issue for the Englishman because, for large parts yesterday, he did pretty well going back.
But, that one moment of losing concentration has proven to be so fatal in his side missing out on adding a seventh European trophy to their name.
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