This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…
Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold delivered five key passes on Saturday, but he also had one of the most wasteful performances you are ever likely to see.
There’s just something about the way Alexander-Arnold strikes a football. Whether he’s zipping a daisy-cutter across the pitch to Andy Robertson or whipping curved crosses in behind the defence, he is one of the purest strikers of the ball around.
That said, with the pure amount of crossing, long balls and key passes he attempts, things are always going to awry sometimes.
The Reds weren’t at their best on Saturday. Despite racking up 18 shots to the visitors’ two, Jurgen Klopp’s men constantly mishit the shot, over-hit the final pass or took one too many touches, and no one epitomised that more than the 21 year-old full-back.
No, that’s not a typo. Per Sofascore, the England international lost possession 49 times.
That’s forty-nine. As in the amount of years it’s been since the Beatles disbanded and Apollo 13 called back down to Earth to tell Houston they had a problem.
Alexander-Arnold is known for his pinpoint passing and crossing, but against the Foxes, he completed just four of the ten crosses he attempted and only five of the 18 long balls he tried. He also completed just 49% of his overall passes.
Now, it is perhaps a mark of just how truly dangerous he is for opposing teams that he still managed to produce five key passes and create two “big chances”, per Sofascore, but nonetheless this was a really erratic display from the local lad.
He did his part defensively with five clearances and five interceptions, but his usually irrepressible passing radar certainly malfunctioned on Saturday.
With a visit to Old Trafford to come after the international break, Reds fans will have to hope he finds his range before then.
