Trent Alexander-Arnold paradox gives Klopp’s Liverpool their meaning | Barney Ronay

The obsession with Alexander-Arnold’s defensive flaws obscures his purpose in a team otherwise defined by systems

With 67 minutes gone at a breezy Etihad Stadium, on an afternoon that seesawed like a listing ship on a spring tide, Trent Alexander-Arnold could be seen twirling and jinking high up the pitch on the Liverpool right flank, a place he occupied for much of the afternoon.

Eventually his cross was cut out by a City foot. Kevin De Bruyne, who produced the perfect through pass for Raheem Sterling to skitter away upfield.