Liverpool manager Arne Slot waxed lyrical about Trent Alexander-Arnold after his stunning goal helped down Accrington Stanley in the third round of the FA Cup.
Alexander-Arnold, out of contract in the summer and a leading transfer target for Real Madrid, was heavily criticised for his performance in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United, with many feeling the speculation around his future had affected his state of mind.
But there were no such concerns for Alexander-Arnold against League Two Accrington, who fought bravely at Anfield before the quality of the Premier League leaders shone through.
Diogo Jota broke the deadlock for Liverpool after a swift breakaway and the game was all but sewn up by Alexander-Arnold’s tremendous long-range goal moments before the half-time interval.
“I could talk for hours about that goal,” Slot remarked of Alexander-Arnold’s strike. “The biggest compliment Trent could get was the reaction of everyone [on Saturday] after the Manchester United game.
“Every player around the world, maybe except for a few, has a bad game and it is completely normal. But the moment Trent has one, everyone has an opinion on it.
“Maybe that is because of the contract situation. If that wasn’t there, I don’t know if people would have reacted in the same way. Many of them were quite hard on him.”
“I think it was good for Trent to play in our own stadium and feel the reception of the fans again,” Slot added. “It was special and can only help him and us.
‘If you want to do special things this season, you can do that together, not only the players, the manager but definitely with the fans.”
Real Madrid have already seen one approach for Alexander-Arnold knocked back by Liverpool, with the Merseyside club still hopeful that their academy graduate will put pen to paper on a new long-term contract.
Alexander-Arnold has expressed a desire to win the Ballon d’Or, however, with the chances of scooping that individual accolade usually heightened by playing for a more illustrious club like Madrid, who have 15 European Cup/Champions League crowns to their name compared to Liverpool’s six.