‘Getting exposed’: Carragher says Man City have a player who is ‘exactly the same’ as Trent Alexander-Arnold

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Jamie Carragher believes Joao Cancelo is ‘exactly the same’ defensively as Trent Alexander-Arnold. Liverpool and Man City share something.

Liverpool beat Manchester City 1-0 at Anfield on Sunday – a massive win for an inconsistent team. The goal was an interesting one, too. Alisson Becker pinged a long pass on the counter-attack to try and set Mohamed Salah through.

The Egyptian did brilliantly, spinning Joao Cancelo with one touch on the halfway line and scoring one-on-one. It was a moment that saw Jamie Carragher make a point about Trent Alexander-Arnold.

“[Cancelo] is exactly the same as Trent,” he told Sky Sports. “He’s not a great defender.

“The reason we’ve been more critical of Trent this season – he’s getting exposed more. We spoke about that lack of protection in front of him.

“He’s not suddenly become a worse player or defender. It’s the same with Cancelo – if he had less protection or you could get more of the ball against City, you’d see that more often.”

Joao Cancelo and Trent Alexander-Arnold

This has always been the case – people just choose to ignore it. It’s not a slight on Cancelo, either, but the way Alexander-Arnold faces judgement is strange at times.

After all, he’s been a part of the league’s tightest defence in three of the last four seasons. That’s impossible if you don’t know how to defend or are a glaring weak spot in the side. Nor has he suddenly forgotten how to play.

But as with Cancelo at Anfield, he’s a player who struggles if you isolate him. That’s the case for plenty of top players on the planet – stick them in a team that doesn’t help them and they look a whole lot worse.

Liverpool have struggled badly defensively this season, conceding first in nearly every game. That hasn’t usually been the case and the breakdown in midfield and with the press isolated and exposed Alexander-Arnold.

Fix that and he’ll look like a decent part of a great defence once again. Jurgen Klopp’s 4-4-2 goes a long way to achieving just that.