Jamie Carragher believes Trent Alexander-Arnold doesn’t have the necessary intensity and focus to defend after the Liverpool FC star attracted criticism for his performance in a 3-1 loss to Real Madrid.
The England international played a role in Liverpool FC’s 3-1 loss to Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final in Madrid on Tuesday night.
Alexander-Arnold struggled to contain Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior in the first half as the Spanish giants eased into a 2-0 lead at half-time of the European tie.
The Liverpool FC full-back was at fault for Marco Asensio’s goal when Alexander-Arnold hashed an attempted clearance to allow the Real Madrid playmaker to hoist a finish over Alisson Becker.
Mohamed Salah halved the deficit at the start of the second half before Vinicius doubled the home side’s lead to leave Real Madrid in control of the last-eight tie.
Alexander-Arnold was a scapegoat for Liverpool FC’s poor performance in the Spanish capital.
Former Liverpool FC defender Carragher believes Alexander-Arnold considers defending his secondary job behind his primary role of being on the ball and creating opportunities.
“He’s in position, he is one v one defending,” Carragher told CBS Sport. “He comes out and there’s no bend in the leg.
“So, basically when you go out there (and you’re low with a bend in your leg), you are low and you try and go past me then I can push off.
“I can push forward. I can go this way (left) and I can go that way (right). And you defend properly. I always see him stood like that (up straight). You cannot change direction.
“So, he doesn’t have that intensity in his legs and the focus to defend. This guy is not going to go past me. It’s like he feels like defending is not his job. I should be on the ball
Alexander-Arnold has scored one goal and has made six assists in 36 games in all competitions in the 2020-21 season.
Liverpool FC will host Aston Villa in their next Premier League game on Saturday afternoon.
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