Former Chelsea defender Frank LeBoeuf has criticized Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold for his sloppy defending in the 2-2 draw against Fulham. Liverpool were held to a stalemate by the newly promoted side in their Premier League opener as the Reds had to twice come from behind in order to get away with a point.
Fulham took the lead through an Aleksandar Mitrovic header in the 38th minute to shock the visitors. The Cottagers started a counter-attack which saw Kenny Tete put in a cross at the far post searching for Mitrovic. The striker overpowered his marker Alexander-Arnold in the air to bury the header past Alisson.
While it was Mitrovic’s aerial power which prevailed, Alexander-Arnold too was at serious fault in letting the striker meet Tete’s cross. Alexander-Arnold refused to give a fight for the ball which allowed Mitrovic an easy passage to slot in the header. LeBoeuf has now launched a staunching attack towards the right-back doing little in defending for the team.
Liverpool full-back continues to struggle with the defensive part of the game
Trent Alexander-Arnold has often come under the scanner for his timid defending for Liverpool. Though his contributions in the attack are just explosive, the right-back however fails to cover the defensive aspect of the game. Fulham was another instance where Alexander-Arnold’s ignorance towards defensive duties cost the Reds a winning start to their campaign.
Speaking on the ESPNFC show, LeBoeuf was ruthless in pointing out the Liverpool star’s regular short-comings at the back. LeBoeuf said: “Well I think we have to make a statement. Alexander-Arnold is absolutely fantastic when he has the ball and he’s really poor when he has to defend. That’s what it is and it’s no offense to say that. It’s clear for me and we have so many evidence that he doesn’t do well when he has to defend.”
LeBoeuf went on to elaborate on how Liverpool conceded a goal which could have been avoided had Alexander-Arnold been more attentive to Mitrovic approaching with full intent.
“In that matter it was very easy, he just has to stop a little bit to make Mitrovic delay his run and he would have never gotten the ball. He knows Mitrovic is behind him, and he still put his body down to allow him to hit his header. That’s crazy, makes no sense for me. I don’t understand, maybe he’s the only one who can explain what he wanted to do in that moment,” concluded LeBouef.
Liverpool were dominated by Fulham in the draw as they twice went ahead in the game. It seemed as if all the things were going against the Reds who also conceded a penalty through Virgil van Dijk. Mitrovic converted the spot-kick in the 72nd minute after Darwin Nunez had equalized for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
While Mohamed Salah did once again pull Liverpool on equal terms, they were unable to find the winner. Klopp will now have a massive task to prepare his boys for the next game against Crystal Palace at Anfield.