Liverpool made it three wins from three in the Champions League last night, beating Bundesliga side RB Leipzig 1-0 in Germany.
The result sees Arne Slot’s side go joint top of the league phase with fellow Premier League side Aston Villa, with returning striker Darwin Núñez’s first-half strike enough to secure all three points.
It was a hard-fought victory for the Reds, often having to spend large periods of the game on the back foot and soak up the pressure applied by Marco Rose’s men.
Caoimhin Kelleher starred throughout, making six saves and undoubtedly helping Slot’s men return to Merseyside with all three points in the bag.
However, despite the goalkeeper’s stellar display, numerous first-team members looked off the pace throughout, often being caught out or looking careless in possession.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s stats against Leipzig
The appointment of Slot during the summer has allowed right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold to work on the defensive side of his game – an area which has often been criticised in recent months.
Before last night, he had managed to win 71% of his attempted tackles this season, only being dribbled past eight times in all competitions – showing a huge improvement in such a short space of time.
His performance in the Champions League was average at best, only managing a total of 59 touches during his 75 minutes on the pitch during the victory.
The 26-year-old was wasteful in possession, completing just 74% of his attempted passes, losing possession a whopping 15 times as he was unable to leave a positive impression on the European outing.
The academy graduate also failed to complete any crosses, with his trademark delivery failing to reach any of his intended targets – with the forward trio missing his services in recent matches.
However, despite his below-par outing in Germany, there was another first-team member who was just as poor throughout, with the Reds boss potentially having a big decision to make ahead of Sunday’s huge match with Arsenal.
The Liverpool star who was just as bad as Trent vs Leipzig
Midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai has been a phenomenal addition since his big-money move from RB Leipzig last summer.
However, in the first few months of the Slot era at Anfield, the Hungarian talent is yet to find his golden touch, often being a tad off the pace and missing that final pass which he so often nailed under Jürgen Klopp during his final season in 2023/24.
The 23-year-old star has only registered one goal in all competitions this campaign, coming against AC Milan in the first Champions League game week, but he’s since been unable to match such feats – as demonstrated last night.
Szoboszlai only won three of his nine duels, often coming out second best against his former employers, managing just one interception as he struggled in breaking up Leipzig’s large spells of possession.
The midfielder also lost possession 13 times during the victory and mirrored Alexander-Arnold in producing a sluggish display, misplacing numerous attempts to find a teammate, leading to the host’s large spells of possession.
Minutes played
90
Touches
72
Passes completed
51/60 (85%)
Dribbles completed
1/3
Possession lost
13x
Duels won
3/9
Fouls committed
1
As a result of his display, Szoboszlai was handed a 6/10 match rating by The Express’ Archie Griggs – an indication as to how he struggled to make his own mark on the win.
Slot now has a huge call to make over starting the 23-year-old when they travel to face Arsenal at the Emirates in what will undoubtedly be a huge game in their hunt for the Premier League title.
After his display last night, the Hungarian international will be fearing for his place, with Curtis Jones certainly champing at the bit to return to the starting lineup after his match-winning goal against Chelsea last weekend.
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1 ByJoe NuttallOct 22, 2024