Steven Gerrard and Rio Ferdinand lead plaudits for Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold

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Liverpool progressed to the semi-finals of the Champions League, after knocking out Manchester City.

Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard and former England defender Rio Ferdinand have lead the plaudits for Reds defender Trent Alexander-Arnold on BT Sport after his stunning display in Liverpool’s win over Manchester City.

The 19-year-old starred in both legs as Jurgen Klopp’s side earned an excellent 5-1 win on aggregate against Pep Guardiola’s men, with the Reds coming from behind to win 2-1 at the Etihad on Tuesday night.

Gabriel Jesus had given City the lead, taking the score to 3-1 on aggregate after Liverpool’s 3-0 win in the first leg, but goals from Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino saw Liverpool ease into the last four.

Alexander-Arnold was immaculate at right-back as he came up against Leroy Sane, and former Reds captain Gerrard believes he was the star of the two legs and suggested he could make the World Cup squad this summer.

Gerrard: “If you look at Trent’s age, and the magnitude of the game over both legs, who he was up against, I think he has to be the star man over the two legs. He’s stood up so well, Gareth [Southgate] will know him well.

“The manager’s confidence in him, to keep him on with a yellow card, speaks volumes.”

Ferdinand: “To come into the game under that pressure and produce a performance like that. He was brave on the front foot against a super talent in [Leroy] Sane, he looked so comfortable.

“Not only defensively was he fantastic, but when he had the ball, his distribution into front areas and finding a teammate was superb.”

Still wearing number 66, Tuesday night’s clash was Alexander-Arnold’s 38th appearance at senior level but he looked as though he had been playing for much longer than that.

Italian giants Roma produced perhaps the shock of the Champions League so far by knocking Barcelona out on Tuesday night, which sees them join Liverpool in awaiting the semi-final draw on Friday in Switzerland.

Sevilla face Bayern Munich in their second leg, while Real Madrid will be expecting to ease into the semi-finals after beating Juventus 4-1 in the first leg.