In the last three matches, Trent Alexander-Arnold has been observed playing a slightly different role when Liverpool have possession of the ball. He moves to the middle, acting like a midfielder.
Then he touches the ball a lot and can use his great right foot. This means there will be some additional responsibility on the center back behind him, especially Ibrahima Konate, who played on the right side of the centre-back. He’s had to run a little bit in these games.
Virgil van Dijk has been asked about the new Alexander-Arnold role.
– It’s under development, but it’s something we all love, Van Dyck says to The Athletic.
He was impressed by the way Nottingham Forest handled him, with Danilo trying to shade the 24-year-old.
– Jungle did well in my opinion. They marked Trent, Fabinho and all our midfielders. This made it very difficult to find them without being pressured, says Dutch.
The tactical change means Van Dijk and his team mates have a few extra things to keep an eye on.
As a centre-back we have to dictate the game, cover the space quickly to get the ball. We should be able to mix it up a little bit sometimes. Trent has to step back, says Van Dijk, sometimes he has to go higher up the field, while others have to go lower and cover up.
– We must continue to work on it. The manager said it’s all about counter pressing and if everyone covers the space and makes the pitch as small as possible we have a great chance to get the ball back. Everyone should feel free when we have the ball, and I think Trent really settles into that role, he says.
Praise the attackers
Liverpool now have five healthy strikers – only Roberto Firmino is missing. Against Forest, Diogo Jota scored twice, and now has four goals in his last two matches.
It’s important for Diogo and the club to keep scoring. We were a big threat from set-pieces, which was fun because we train a lot with them. We did that especially on Friday, says Virgil.
It also highlights Mohamed Salah, who on Sunday equaled Robbie Fowler’s 183 goals for the club. He is just three points behind Steven Gerrard on the club’s all-time leading scorer list.
Mo will definitely be seen as a legend. He is an important player for us. In later times, I think, the things he did would be more appreciated by the outside world. We appreciate everything he does every day. We see all the hard work he does.
Salah has now scored in three consecutive Premier League matches. He last did so in October 2021.
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