Gary Neville was critical of one Liverpool player for a moment of silliness in the early stages of this evening’s clash against Wolves.
There were only seven minutes on the clock when, in annoyance at giving away a free kick, Trent Alexander-Arnold lightly kicked the ball away. It was spotted by referee Anthony Taylor, who duly showed the Reds vice-captain a yellow card.
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Speaking on co-commentary for Sky Sports, the ex-Manchester United defender had no sympathy for the 25-year-old, stating: “The publicity around this particular rule means now referees are now all over it. Trent Alexander-Arnold stupidly putting himself under pressure.”
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We must admit that Neville is qutie right to scold Trent for picking up a needless booking so early in the game, especially for an indiscretion which has been in the headlines recently.
It was only six days ago that Leandro Trossard was controversially sent off when he was shown a second yellow card for kicking the ball away in Arsenal’s 2-2 draw at Manchester City, not long after his teammate Declan Rice suffered a similar fate when the Gunners met Brighton at the end of August.
Managers would likely be OK with their players being booked for ‘tactical fouls’ such as stopping a counterattack, but Arne Slot certainly won’t have approved of his vice-captain going into Taylor’s notebook for an impetuous act of frustration.
Let’s hope that it doesn’t end up costing Trent later in the match and that he learns from a careless act that he should’ve been experienced enough to have avoided.
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