Liverpool, Nobody was questioning Trent Alexander-Arnold\u2019s attacking qualities, so it would be a stretch to say his perfectly executed free kick was a riposte to his critics.<\/p>\n
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Still, his seventh-minute strike that set Liverpool on course to a totally dominant 2-0 win Tuesday against Rangers in the Champions League felt significant.<\/p>\n
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His joyous celebration was a release of tension for a player whose World Cup place looks in serious jeopardy, AP reports.<\/p>\n
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Whether this performance will be enough to convince England manager Gareth Southgate to include him in his squad for Qatar remains to be seen \u2013 but, for Jurgen Klopp, Alexander-Arnold is pivotal to Liverpool\u2019s recovery from such an uncertain start to the season.<\/p>\n
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Questions also hang over the Merseyside club \u2013 but the one-sided contest at Anfield should serve to settle nerves among his players.<\/p>\n
Only veteran Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor prevented a landslide Liverpool victory.<\/p>\n
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The 40-year-old McGregor engaged in a personal dual with Darwin Nunez in the first half \u2013 and a spectacular fingertip save to push away a goal-bound effort from Diogo Jota after the break stood out from a host of stops in the face of overwhelming Liverpool pressure.<\/p>\n
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Ultimately it took two set pieces to beat him \u2014 Alexander-Arnold\u2019s free kick and a second-half penalty from Mohamed Salah.<\/p>\n
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Klopp has defended Alexander-Arnold amid growing criticism of his defensive frailties and continued that theme on Tuesday, even if it was another occasion when the fullback\u2019s attacking prowess caught the eye.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHe played a good game defensively, especially, and a good goal,\u201d said the Liverpool manager. \u201cWe cannot talk about it every week. Trent doesn\u2019t have a defensive problem \u2013 we have a defensive problem, hopefully had (a defensive problem).<\/p>\n
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\u201cOur timing was not right and we take risks in defending, everybody knows that. When the timing is not right, you open gaps, and these gaps are very often at the back of Trent. Not because of him, but because of other situations and he has to track back and, yes, we were not in the perfect moment. That\u2019s why we adjusted it slightly (tonight).\u201d<\/p>\n
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It is difficult, though, to draw too many conclusions from a game where the gulf in class between English and Scottish football was fully exposed.<\/p>\n
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Liverpool\u2019s early-season struggles were nowhere to be seen in the face of such meager opposition from Rangers.<\/p>\n
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The Glasgow club looked out of its depth from the opening moments as the home team completely dominated the ball and the chances.<\/p>\n
McGregor was called into action after just three minutes to stop an effort from Nunez. That would become a theme of the first half.<\/p>\n
Liverpool was ahead shortly afterward when Alexander-Arnold lined up a free kick just outside the box and curled a perfect shot into the top corner to spark wild celebrations inside Anfield.<\/p>\n
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The only surprise by halftime was the fact Liverpool failed to add to its lead.<\/p>\n
But Salah killed off any chance of an unlikely fightback with his 53rd-minute penalty after Leon King brought down Luis Diaz in the box.<\/p>\n
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\u201cDon\u2019t forget the opposition we are playing,\u201d said Rangers coach Giovanni Van Bronckhorst. \u201cEveryone is thinking, \u2018OK it\u2019s Liverpool, they are out of form, it\u2019s going to be an easy game.\u2019 Well you see today the level they can reach.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe gap is obvious. You don\u2019t have to look at the squads we both have. We are competing against one of the best sides in Europe. The gap is there.\u201d<\/p>\n
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For Klopp, there was a sense of relief, after recording back-to-back wins in the competition and the chance to build some momentum and confidence.<\/p>\n
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Liverpool remained three points behind Group A leader Napoli, which beat Ajax 6-1.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI can\u2019t wait for the moment when I can read newspapers again because I didn\u2019t read them for weeks,\u201d he joked. \u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening in the world, to be honest. I know the big news and the bad news, I know all of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe criticism is completely fine. We are not over the moon about our situation. But we played some really good games \u2013 it\u2019s not like it\u2019s 10 years ago, it\u2019s not too long ago. I saw tonight a team fully committed and that\u2019s what we have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
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These are tentative steps forward for Liverpool and Alexander-Arnold \u2014 and neither club nor player will get too carried away on the basis of this one night at Anfield.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Source: Bahrain News Agency<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Liverpool, Nobody was questioning Trent Alexander-Arnold\u2019s attacking qualities, so it would be a stretch to say his perfectly executed free kick was a riposte to his critics. Still, his seventh-minute strike that set Liverpool on course to a totally dominant 2-0 win Tuesday against Rangers in the Champions League felt significant. His joyous […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n