Arnold scores stunning win as Liverpool come from behind against Aston Villa

INA – SOURCES
Trent Alexander-Arnold may appreciate the irony of being the first Liverpool player since lockdown to benefit from the lack of fans inside Anfield.
In usual circumstances, England manager Gareth Southgate would have left the stadium early to avoid traffic. There was no excuse for him to vacate the Directors’ Box and miss the right back ending Liverpool’s four month wait for a home victory with a 91st minute winner at Aston Villa’s expense.
Southgate’s scouting notes will still make a confusing review, inevitably packed with all the contradictory messages that have sparked such a debate since the 22-year-old’s England omission a fortnight ago.
This was not one of Alexander-Arnold’s finest performances. He often lost possession and was struggling to locate his passing radar for much of the afternoon. One ill-timed challenge on Mahmoud Trezeguet late-on might have led to a penalty had the Villa attacker gone down more theatrically.
But football is all about timing and delivering at the ideal moment, so when Alexander-Arnold smashed past Emiliano Martinez to retain his club’s hopes of Champions League qualification, it was another example of a talent which cannot be ignored. Sadly, he seems destined to be the centre of a weekly debate of the England manager’s making until he is recalled, every performance over-analysed for its beauty and blemishes. This had both.