Liverpool got what they deserved on Saturday as they picked up a 2-0 win over Aston Villa.
The Reds have had a perfect week, winning three games at Anfield to head into the international break on a high.
Having beaten off the threat posed by Villa, Liverpool now sit five points clear at the top of the Premier League table. Quite remarkable.
Goals from Darwin Nunez and then Mohamed Salah did the damage on Saturday, although the Reds did survive some hairy moments in between. Caoimhin Kelleher was needed again, put it that way.
Another difficult point came with the only real negative of the evening. That being Trent Alexander-Arnold picking up an injury on 25 minutes and being forced to exit the game.
And after Steve McManaman tried his best to get an immediate update on Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool boss Arne Slot has now provided a further explanation.
Alexander-Arnold has been a little below-par over recent matches and that continued during the early stages of Saturday’s game.
One super cross-field ball to Luis Diaz aside, the Liverpool academy graduate was once again fairly wayward with his passing. Alexander-Arnold was also gotten at a little too easily by Jacob Ramsey.
Nevertheless, the 26-year-old is still one of Liverpool’s absolute key players and it’s always a worry to see him go off.
Asked for an update on Alexander-Arnold during his post-match press conference, Slot admitted that Trent looks likely to miss international duty with England.
“It’s difficult to say how serious it is, but it’s always serious if a player goes out in the first half,” said the Liverpool head coach. “Not because I didn’t like him, but because he asked for it himself He didn’t ask for it because he was tired, he asked for it because he felt something.
“That’s first of all not a good sign, but it is always difficult so close after the game to tell you exactly what it is. Let’s wait and see.
“I would be surprised if we will see him playing for the England national team this week, but hopefully he can.”
How did Conor Bradley do?
With Alexander-Arnold going off, Bradley was given the most meaningful minutes of his Premier League season to date.
The 21-year-old has been featuring regularly this season under Slot but has largely been introduced as a late substitute.
Stat Conversion
Accurate pass % 90%
Tackles won % 100%
Ground Duels won % 29%
Aerial Duels won % 100%
Conor Bradley selected stats vs Aston Villa
Asked to put in a much longer shift on Saturday and Bradley did okay on the whole.
For whatever reason, the Northern Ireland international does not look quite the same player we saw marauding forward at the turn of the year.
But still, Bradley did what was needed of him to suggest that he can step in if Alexander-Arnold misses more than just the games for England.
