Trent Alexander-Arnold is the leading man at Liverpool… as Reds ace is a growing force on pitch and now a big voice in Jurgen Klopp’s dressing room

The pattern was set with Manchester City’s first attack. Wherever they had the ball on the pitch, Pep Guardiola’s side had a clear plan: get the ball towards the left flank and their virtuoso winger Jeremy Doku.

He was aided and abetted by the wandering Bernardo Silva, who continually overlapped and underlapped City’s Belgian winger. To say Trent Alexander-Arnold had his hands full for Liverpool would be a massive understatement.

Doku completed eleven dribbles, the most by any player in a Premier League match for over two years (since Adama Traore for Wolves against Brentford), and the most ever recorded by any player against Liverpool.

Last month, former Reds star James Milner was hooked at half-time for Brighton after being tormented by Doku. Perhaps the veteran gave his old mate Alexander-Arnold some advice on how to deal with Doku, as the Liverpool vice-captain stood his ground.

It would be a stretch to say he was the best of Doku and Silva – they skipped past him and Joel Matip a few times, but Alexander-Arnold defended admirably in an enjoyable display and then scored the all-important equalizer in the second. half.

The Liverpool right back had his hands full with Man City winger Jeremy Doku

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said: “Anyone as a defender one-on-one this season will have a tough afternoon against Doku. He is a very good dribbler. I don’t think (Alexander-Arnold) had a difficult afternoon, but it’s the way you defend them together and try to get two-on-one situations.

‘Trent is very good defensively and when in possession he obviously has qualities that are very special. He has the complete package.”

On previous negativity surrounding Alexander-Arnold’s defense, Van Dijk added: ‘That is the outside world and something we have no control over. He was playing against one of the most in-form wingers. So being important in the goal and also in his interceptions is very important.’

Liverpool vice-captain Alexander-Arnold certainly appears to have learned some leadership lessons from his former colleague Milner. Now 25, he has taken a huge step forward in that regard this season and is playing a pivotal role in guiding Liverpool’s next crop of young stars. The local boy is a vocal member of the locker room.

That was crucial at half-time at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, when Jurgen Klopp was annoyed by his team’s lack of control in midfield.

He made a tactical switch that gave Alexander-Arnold more creative freedom and that ultimately led to the equalizer.

The goal made him the star of the show for Liverpool on the day it was announced he had signed a £26 million boot deal with Adidas, joining Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham in signing up as the face of the sportswear giant with a multi-year contract. .

Alexander-Arnold is having an impressive spell in the team, despite being handed a stick last year

Liverpool’s vice-captain wore a pair of vintage, unreleased adidas Predator boots here after his contract with Under Armor expired.

The deal is another sign of his growing profile and those boots clearly suited him as he had the most dribbles and tackles of any Liverpool player, underlining his all-round impact on the game.

He was second to Van Dijk in passes and touches to Liverpool players. There has never been any doubt about Alexander-Arnold’s attacking qualities, but many – outside Liverpool – are raising questions about his defence. This display showed him maturing as a part-time midfielder, part-time defender and full-time leader.

After Erling Haaland opened the scoring and became the fastest player ever to score 50 goals in the Premier League, City felt like they had lost two points. “We have to demand more of ourselves,” Silva said. ‘We have to win these kinds of games. We expected Liverpool to come back after a tough season. We knew their energy would come back, so it will be difficult, not only for them, but also for Arsenal and Spurs.

‘We’re going to do our best to distance ourselves a little bit. Last season it was not nice to be so far behind Arsenal (at one point). We enjoy it more when we win, but it’s nice for the Premier League and the fans when it’s so exciting and there’s emotion.”

Manager Jurgen Klopp was full of praise for his defender, claiming he was influential throughout the match

Silva failed to mention Aston Villa in that list. City go there in just over a week, after Tottenham made the trip north on Sunday. The run is punishing from now until New Year’s. The Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia is also just around the corner.

Pep Guardiola has injury problems, with Kevin De Bruyne one of the many midfielders to drop out. City were only in eight places here – two were goalkeepers – with twenty-year-old Oscar Bobb as the only attacking option. John Stones was back in the squad but required intense strength and conditioning work to reach peak fitness.

“We are not training (well),” Guardiola said. ‘On Friday we spent ten to fifteen minutes with the ball and ten minutes defending. For Tuesday (a Champions League dead rubber against Red Bull Leipzig) it will be 10 minutes on the pitch. We can’t train.

“When we train, we won’t have any players left for the next match.”