‘This was brilliant’ – Neil Mellor lauds Liverpool ace for crucial 55th-minute moment v Man Utd
Neil Mellor heaped praise on one Liverpool player for a crucial intervention during the second half of the 0-0 draw against Manchester United on Sunday.
Despite the home side dominating at Anfield, the visitors enjoyed a couple of dangerous breakaways, one of which saw Alejandro Garnacho bear down on goal in the 55th minute before an immaculately-timed tackle by Trent Alexander-Arnold snuffed out the danger.
The LFCTV pundit and former Reds striker posted a series of screenshots on X reviewing key moments from yesterday’s match when he pinpointed the vice-captain’s vital challenge on the teenage Red Devils forward.
Including a screengrab of the incident, Mellor tweeted: “Plenty of noise about Trent defensively. This was brilliant to stop a goalscoring chance for Garnacho in 55th min”.
Plenty of noise about Trent defensively. This was brilliant to stop a goalscoring chance for Garnacho in 55th min #ReviewShow #Trent #LiverpoolFC #LFCTV pic.twitter.com/bsFDekATpI
— Neil Mellor (@NeilMellor33) December 18, 2023
For all that Liverpool dominated the match but couldn’t find a way to goal, it can easily be forgotten that United had the Anfield crowd sweating on the rare occasions that they broke forward.
The opening for Garnacho shortly after half-time was perhaps their best chance to score, and the 19-year-old may well have done so if it weren’t for Trent getting back to take the ball off him in the nick of time.
Had the Reds’ vice-captain mistimed his challenge even by a fraction, the Argentine would either have had a free shot at goal, or his team would’ve had a penalty, so it shouldn’t be understated just how important an intervention it was by our number 66.
As galling as it was to draw yesterday, it would’ve been truly sickening if United had pulled off a smash-and-grab win, so Jurgen Klopp and the Liverpool players will no doubt be grateful to the 25-year-old for his perfectly timed tackle.
It was illustrative of the increasing on-field leadership that Trent is showing since being given the vice-captaincy in the summer, and as Mellor referenced, it certainly would’ve given the critics of his defending some food for thought.
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