Trent Alexander-Arnold says Arne Slot was as angry as he's ever seen him at half-time against Southampton
Trent Alexander-Arnold says Arne Slot was as angry as he's ever seen him at half-time against Southampton
Trent Alexander-Arnold says Arne Slot was an angry as he's ever seen him at half-time in Liverpool's win over Southampton as the Reds defender gave what has become a rare post-match interview.
The Premier League leaders were heavy favourites to beat the division's rock bottom club at Anfield on Saturday, but they fell a goal down just before half-time when Will Smallbone's strike stunned the Kop end.
Slot was watching on from the stands as he served the second of his two-match touchline ban, and the Dutchman looked visibly distressed with his side's display. He opted to take drastic action at the break, making a triple substitution as Kostas Tsimikas, Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai were replaced by Andy Robertson, Alexis Mac Allister and Harvey Elliott.
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The changes had the desired effect as Liverpool woke up after the break, with Darwin Nunez levelling from close range before two Mo Salah penalties secured a 3-1 win and stretched the Reds' lead at the top of the table to 16 points ahead of Arsenal's trip to Manchester United on Sunday.
Reds vice-captain Alexander-Arnold has tended to shy away from the cameras this season amid ongoing uncertainty around his contract and constant links with a free transfer move to Real Madrid, but he spoke to LFCTV after Saturday's match and said Slot was as animated as he's been all season at the break.
Alexander-Arnold and Salah were key to Liverpool's turnaround
Alexander-Arnold and Salah were key to Liverpool's turnaround
“Probably the most (angry) we have seen him so far, I guess it’s a good thing he’s not been too animated so far, but I think rightfully so," said Alexander-Arnold.
“It wasn’t good enough, we deserved to be down, but we came out second half with a point to prove and did that really early on. As a team and individuals, you’d like to be very good every single game but it’s not possible.
“You are going to have days like this where you don’t play well, you’re not proud of the performance. It’s a day you look back on it and think yeah we got the three points, that’s the most important thing.”
Arne Slot cut a frustrated figure in the stands at Anfield
Arne Slot cut a frustrated figure in the stands at Anfield
The win sets Liverpool up perfectly for the Champions League last-16 second leg against Paris Saint-Germain and Tuesday and next Sunday's Carabao Cup final agaiinst Newcastle, and Alexander-Arnold added: “You can’t downplay too much how important today’s win was, to go 16 clear at this stage of the season is huge and puts a lot of pressure on Arsenal.
“We’ve done our work in the league now until after the internationals, now we focus on the two other competitions."
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