‘Interesting to see from up here’: Ferdinand notices one change Liverpool have made to help Alexander-Arnold

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Rio Ferdinand spotted a change Jurgen Klopp has made to help Trent Alexander-Arnold. The right-back answered critics vs Rangers.

Trent Alexander-Arnold grabbed headlines on Tuesday as he scored a wonderful free-kick at Anfield. The right-back put Liverpool 1-0 up against Rangers, curling it in from 25 yards.

That’s a reminder of just how good Alexander-Arnold is. He’s a sensational talent – one capable of winning games at the highest level.

But this performance was about more than just the goal. Alexander-Arnold looked more comfortable going forward than he has in recent weeks. Rangers found fewer opportunities to run at him, too.

Rio Ferdinand spotted a massive reason for why – Jordan Henderson.

“He couldn’t have dreamed of a better start,” Ferdinand told BT Sport. “On the ball, some of the passing and some of the movement in the final third and leading up to that has been really, really top draw.

It’s been interesting to see from up here the positions of Jordan Henderson in the team. He’s been the security behind [Alexander-Arnold] when he goes forward. You can see there’s been a bit of a shuffle with Klopp in that sense.”

Liverpool change to help Alexander-Arnold

The formation change played the biggest role here. Jurgen Klopp went 4-2-4 with his team, using two midfielders rather than three.

And that makes a difference. Liverpool had so many options going forward that the midfielders didn’t need to push on. Instead, Henderson and Thiago controlled the middle of the pitch and covered the full-backs with ease.

The extra forward meant Liverpool always had width, too, as the likes of Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz were forced wide to find space. The full-backs didn’t have to push up all the time as a result. Kostas Tsimikas and Alexander-Arnold could pick their moments better and sit a little deeper.

In other words, the 4-2-4 made it a lot more difficult to isolate the full-backs. Having Henderson constantly there to help was a big part in that.