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Former Chelsea defender and World Cup winner Frank LeBoeuf has been left bewildered by Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold's inability to defend. Despite being one of the best attacking full-backs of this generation, the England international has often been blamed for not doing enough to help his team defend.
His defensive frailties were on display yet again in the Reds' 2-2 draw against Fulham in their first fixture of the 2022-23 Premier League campaign on August 6. The Liverpool right-back went missing in the 32nd minute of the game when the Cottagers counter-attacked and Kenny Tete floated a cross towards the far post.
Fulham centre-forward Aleksandar Mitrovic attacked the ball with power and beat Alisson to score the first goal of the game. With all due credit to the Serbian, it was Alexander-Arnold who was mostly responsible for the goal with his timid defending. One may even call it a lack of defending.
Speaking on the ESPN FC show, LeBoeuf showed no mercy to the Liverpool academy product. He said:
“Well I think we have to make a statement. Alexander-Arnold is absolutely fantastic when he has the ball and he’s really poor when he has to defend. That’s what it is and it’s no offense to say that. It's clear for me and we have so many evidence that he doesn't do well when he has to defend."
Further, the Frenchman explained how he saw the situation and how easy it was for the Reds ace to avoid conceding a goal.
He said:
"In that matter it was very easy, he just has to stop a little bit to make Mitrovic delay his run and he would have never gotten the ball. He knows Mitrovic is behind him, and he still put his body down to allow him to hit his header. That's crazy, makes no sense for me. I don't understand, maybe he's the only one who can explain what he wanted to do in that moment."
Liverpool got back into the game in the second-half through new boy Darwin Nunez, who scored with some clever improvisation on his Premier League debut. Mitrovic emerged as a threat again, winning the penalty in a one-on-one situation against Virgil van Dijk and then converting it with sheer confidence.
However, Fulham, for all their hard work, could not stop Jurgen Klopp's side from restoring parity. Mohamed Salah scored the second equalizer in the 80th minute as the Reds could only take one point on the opening day.
Liverpool could make a bid for AC Milan midfielder
CalcioMercatoWeb reported that the Anfield outfit might launch a bid for AC Milan midfielder Ismael Bennacer due to multiple injuries in their camp. Curtis Jones, Naby Keita and Alex Oxalde-Chamberlain are all sidelined for the Reds. To add to their woes, Thiago Alcantara also suffered a hamstring injury against Fulham.
Hence, it is being suggested that to stay on the safe side, Liverpool are planning on sending an offer for Bennacer to the Rossoneri in the coming days. The Algerian has a release clause of €50 million but Liverpool are expected to bid a lesser amount.
