Chris Sutton tears into 25-year-old Liverpool player’s defending vs Man City

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Chris Sutton has torn into Trent Alexander-Arnold’s performance for Liverpool despite the fullback scoring the goal that saw the points shared at Manchester City.

The England international was the hero for the Reds as Alexander-Arnold’s wonderful strike saw Liverpool rescue a draw having gone 1-0 down at the Etihad Stadium.

Despite winning praise from the likes of Garth Crooks, Alexander-Arnold was slammed by Sutton via It’s All Kicking Off for how bad his defending and position was on the day against City.

Sutton said: “I know everybody loves forward-thinking right-backs and nobody is disputing Trent Alexander-Arnold isn’t one of the most wonderful passers of the ball the Premier League has ever seen. But bottom line, you are right about Doku [giving him a torrid time] and can Alexnander-Arnold defend? He can’t.

“He struggles. And actually, the goal that he scored, his positioning was so bad and you look at it in the first instance, he’s quite high up when he should drop, and Doku goes past Matip and Haaland has the deflected effort and Liverpool go up the other end.

“His goal is brilliant but there are both sides to the game. And are we looking for just ball-playing attacking full-backs? In one vs one situations that’s when you find out who is a really good defender.”

Chris Sutton’s Trent Alexander-Arnold for Liverpool criticism is just bonkers

Alexander-Arnold’s defending has becoming something of a meme at this stage, with Football Twitter using it as an excuse as to why the Liverpool star isn’t as good compared to others in his position.

Whilst the England international struggled at times against City winger Jeremy Doku, the goal is ultimately what mattered most for Liverpool on the day, with the goal a wonderful move and hit.

Which is why Sutton’s criticism comes across as so unusual, with Alexander-Arnold, in the end, the reason why Liverpool escaped Manchester with a crucial point having also blown the Premier League title race wide open.