UK Edition
Liverpool goalscorer Trent Alexander-Arnold admits he thought senior players would stop him taking free kick
The Liverpool teenager Trent Alexander-Arnold said that right up to the moment he struck his first goal for the club against Hoffenheim in the Champions League qualifier first leg he was not sure that the senior players would let him take the free-kick from which he scored.
The 18-year-old hit a spectacular first half goal in Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Hoffenheim that sets them up for the return game at Anfield on Wednesday. Jurgen Klopp said after the game that he had instructed Alexander-Arnold to take the free-kicks having spotted his potential at Melwood where the teenager would practice after training with team-mate Ben Woodburn.
Alexander-Arnold said: “It [scoring the goal] is indescribable, to be honest. Special in so many different ways for me personally and I've definitely ticked the box off. At first I didn't know it was going to go in but it was well placed and I thought it was a good free-kick and I was happy it went in. I've been practising free-kicks but I didn't think the senior players would let me take it to be honest but in the end they did and I stepped up and scored and did well for the team.”
Steven Gerrard, now the Liverpool Under-18s coach, had tipped Alexander-Arnold for greatness last year and the young Liverpudlian is now taking his first steps in senior football. “It's always good to get compliments from your idol,” Alexander-Arnold said, “and I am hoping to live up to his words. It is always good to have his backing and support.”
He added: “I don't tend to think about it [the extra scrutiny he is under]. I just try to go to Melwood every day and try to fight for my position for the weekend and that's what I'll be doing on Wednesday because you can't take for granted you are going to play again and you have to try to keep your spot and that is what I am trying to go and do this week.”
The Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet said that the team know they must improve defensively after shipping a late goal against Hoffenheim, to substitute striker Mark Uth, having let in three against Watford on the first day of the season.
He said: “We have the qualities and our natural game will be attacking, we know we have to fill that in with a really defensive spirit. We know that is where we have to improve. We are not blind. Everybody knows it in the dressing room, but there is no point throwing everything away. A natural footballing side that goes forward you cannot change that but we know we have to mix that in with a good defensive, aggressive spirit to make sure they don’t score the goals. But we know we have so much talent in the squad that we have to use it.”
The goalkeeper, who had a good game in Germany, added: “We can only play one way and that is forward. To score two goals away from home, if we score one at Anfield it will be very difficult for them. We knew that we can always score. We have so much style up front. We took a lot of steps defensively [against Watford] we were solid, set-pieces we defended well too and that is what we have to learn. We know what we have to improve after the Watford and we have a good dressing room that will deal with that.”