Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold in action against Leeds United
(Image credit: James Gill – Danehouse / Getty Images)Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold says it “burned” to watch Manchester United winning the League Cup.
One of English football’s biggest and oldest rivalries resumes on Sunday when Erik ten Hag’s confident side travel to Anfield in the Premier League.
The momentum has shifted this season as, after a period of huge success that saw Liverpool clinch Premier League and Champions League titles, the Reds have struggled this season and go into the game in sixth place.
United, on the other hand, are flying under new boss Ten Hag and sit in third, bolstered by ending a six-year trophy drought with their League Cup final triumph over Newcastle United last weekend.
“I watched the game, but as soon as they were getting ready for the trophy lift, I turned off,” Alexander-Arnold told the Irish Independent.
“I thought, ‘There is no way I am watching that’. Knowing they lifted that trophy? It burns. Oh yeah. It definitely burns.”
Liverpool’s drop-off this season has been alarming, coming in the wake of a 2021/22 campaign where they finished second in the Premier League to Manchester City by one point, racking up an impressive total of 92 points.
They also reached the Champions League final, losing to Real Madrid, and won a domestic cup double by claiming both the FA Cup and League Cup.
However, their form has dive-bombed this term with the Reds suffering fourth-round exits in both domestic cups, facing an imminent Champions League exit after a 5-2 hammering in their last 16 first leg against Real Madrid, and sitting sixth in the league, a whopping 24 points off top.
“It shows you how football changes very quickly,” said Alexander-Arnold.
“Look at Arsenal. At the end of last season, everyone was talking about failure for not making the top four. All of a sudden, they are leading in the title race. In football terms, these changes really do happen overnight.
“It’s the same with Manchester United when you look at the difference now to last year. Even the start of this season, when they lost to Brentford, how many people were saying, ‘Here we go again?’
“Now they’re flying. It happens. That is why I am not going to allow myself to get over-consumed with what has happened to us because I know in a few months, or possibly even weeks, it will change. I am determined to keep level-headed and balanced about what has gone on.”
A re-aligning of expectations has been necessary for Alexander-Arnold and his team-mates, who are used to competing for silverware but now must focus on closing a six-point gap to Tottenham and finishing in the top four.
“At the start of this season if you had asked us what we expected in March, it would have been to be coming towards the climax of the title race,” said the England defender.
“That’s the best feeling in football, going into every game knowing you need to win and most likely watching Manchester City’s games thinking if they lose or drop two points, we’re going to pounce.
“Now it is going to be difficult to win a trophy this season. It looks impossible. We will need a miracle. So there is a different type of motivation and it is difficult to adjust.
“We have drawn a line and know the top four is everything now. I can’t imagine not being in the Champions League. That is what is motivating all of us.
“As a club, we need to be playing Champions League football. We have not made it easy for ourselves, but the level we are and the quality we have as players, means we expect it.”
