Liverpool didn’t deserve anything from their visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday as they fell to a 1-0 defeat.
The Reds are still not out of the tie, of course, with this being just the first-leg of the semi-final.
But despite that, it was certainly one of the most disappointing nights of Arne Slot’s reign at Liverpool so far.
Nevertheless, there were still positives to take. Perhaps the biggest of those was the performance of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Alexander-Arnold was dropped from the starting XI, with Slot preferring to bring Conor Bradley in.
And after Trent delivered an excellent cameo against Spurs, journalist James Pearce shared what he heard the travelling Liverpool fans chanting towards the right-back.
Liverpool fans serenade Trent Alexander-Arnold
Sunday’s draw against Manchester United quite possibly represented the darkest day in Alexander-Arnold’s Liverpool career.
Slot had to plead with the Anfield crowd to halt the toxicity towards the Liverpool academy graduate.
It was always going to be interesting to see how Alexander-Arnold responded to such public criticism – and perhaps even more fascinating to see how the fans would treat him during the next game, too.
Of course a travelling crowd is a different one to a home support, but it was still good to hear Pearce relay that there was positivity from the fans towards Alexander-Arnold.
READ MORE: Liverpool player ratings vs Tottenham as Trent Alexander-Arnold responds to Man United criticism
“Great reception for Alexander-Arnold,” the journalist wrote on X.
“”The Scouser in our team,” chant the away end.”
Alexander-Arnold ready to fight
The most disappointing thing about Alexander-Arnold’s abject display against Man United was the lack of fight the 26-year-old showed.
His quality has never really been in doubt, but it genuinely looked as though Trent would rather be anywhere else than at Anfield on Sunday.
On Wednesday, he looked like a different man. Biting into the opponent and injecting energy into his work with the ball, Alexander-Arnold looked like a player up for the fight.
Unfortunately that did not translate into a win for Liverpool on the night.
But having Trent back in fighting mood could be an even bigger bonus to the rest of the season.
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