Alexander-Arnold, who has recently attracted a bid from Real Madrid, was outplayed by Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes in the 2-2 draw on Sunday. ..Continue Reading
The 26-year-old was also partly responsible for Lisandro Martinez’s opening goal, and his usual attacking prowess was absent.
Liverpool manager Slot believes that some responsibility for Alexander-Arnold’s difficulties should be placed on Ryan Gravenberch, as well as the United duo who caused him problems on the flanks.
“Trent has played mostly very good games for this club,” Slot told Sky Sports. “Today wasn’t his best game but that probably had to do with them [United] as well. Sometimes Ryan wasn’t close enough to him in the first half. I would put it more on the quality of Dalot and Fernandes.
“Bruno Fernandes is a very, very good player. They have shown many times, United, that if things are really difficult for them, they can show up. They caused us some problems.
“Dalot was a threat as well on the left side. We’re talking about two Portugal starters so it’s not easy to stop them getting into dangerous situations.”
With only six months left on his Liverpool contract, Alexander-Arnold’s future remains uncertain, sparking speculation that he might join Real Madrid this summer, where his close friend Jude Bellingham currently plays.
Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah will also become free agents in six months unless Liverpool can negotiate new deals with them.
Both players were pivotal against United, with Van Dijk organizing the defense and Salah scoring a penalty that gave them the lead until Amad Diallo’s late equalizer.
Many were surprised that the Red Devils managed to secure a point, considering their poor form leading up to the match.
Slot believes the final moments of the game, where United pressed for a winner and Harry Maguire missed a golden opportunity, indicate that manager Ruben Amorim could be making progress.
“In the last 15 minutes you could see how well they could play if they do play,” he said. “Before that they were only going long with [Andre] Onana. Maybe they are even better than they think they are.”
