Jeremy Doku versus Trent Alexander-Arnold became one of the key battles during Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Manchester City.
The winger completed 15 of his 22 attempted take-ons — the majority of which came against the full-back — but there was no end product from Doku or his team-mates. Doku’s impact is highlighted below in his player dashboard.
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Alexander-Arnold endured a difficult afternoon out of possession, being dribbled past 12 times in total — 11 by Doku — yet he was part of a defensive unit that walked off with a clean sheet.
It was evidence that winning an individual battle does not always result in a positive collective outcome for your team.
It is not the first time Doku has caused Alexander-Arnold problems. The right-back struggled following the Belgium international’s introduction during the second half of the 2-0 victory at Anfield in December. In that game, the Liverpool right-back, who was returning from injury, was replaced by Jarell Quansah for the final 17 minutes.
Last season, Doku posted similar numbers against Alexander-Arnold in the 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium. He completed 12 out of 18 take-ons, while Alexander-Arnold was dribbled past on seven occasions.
On Sunday, the winger set the tone in the first five minutes when he skipped past Alexander-Arnold three times.
In the first instance, Alexander-Arnold tried to stop a counter-attack at source and, while he recovered, he was beaten again by Doku. Both incidents occurred in Manchester City’s half, so Liverpool had numbers back.
The bigger warning sign was when Doku spun the defender as Alexander-Arnold again tried to engage quickly. It was one of the times Liverpool were nearly exposed, with Ibrahima Konate drawn out to the danger, creating space between him and fellow centre-back Virgil van Dijk. Liverpool managed to clear.
In the opening stages, Alexander-Arnold was left one-on-one with Doku with little help provided by his team-mates. In the 16th minute, Doku’s burst of acceleration took him past the defender again. Ryan Gravenberch was closer, but unable to provide support.
Five minutes later, Gravenberch was positioned behind Alexander-Arnold to provide an extra layer of protection. Again, Doku’s burst was too quick for him to cover.
When Doku did beat Alexander-Arnold and deliver a cross, he failed to find a team-mate. Van Dijk and Konate were aggressive, alert and well-positioned to neutralise any threat.
Doku acknowledged after the match that he was unable to capitalise on the moments when he got past Alexander-Arnold.
“I had a lot of attacking situations but after the two goals that they scored they played very deep,” Doku told Sky Sports. “They then played on the counter-attack so it was hard to find spaces. Some games are like that.
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“I passed him (Alexander-Arnold) a lot of times but it was then the final pass… the most important thing after passing is to create something from it, and I played some good balls in front of the goal but we have to score.”
Liverpool began to learn their lessons and more team-mates began to position themselves in better positions to help Alexander-Arnold. They benefitted from going in front, and then doubling their advantage in the first half. Their need to attack was replaced with the desire to defend their lead and Mohamed Salah’s positioning illustrated that the most.
It is rare to see Salah so deep because Liverpool’s defensive structure is designed to keep him in advanced areas. Often, the right-sided No 10 is tasked with covering the right channel in between Salah and the right-back.
That is not to suggest Salah is lazy as he is still involved in Liverpool’s initial press, but as City manager Pep Guardiola pointed out post-match, he was much more involved defensively than usual.
“We have good wingers,” Guardiola told Sky Sports. “They defend inside and Salah defended today much, much more than the previous games where he stayed more up front.”
After 27 minutes, with Doku in possession, he was faced with a blockade of red shirts and his cross was cleared.
This continued as the first half went on and it seemed to give Alexander-Arnold more confidence, earning ironic cheers when he won a tackle…
… and when Doku recovered the ball, Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai provided support.
It did not completely halt Doku’s momentum. He got past Alexander-Arnold again in first-half stoppage time, but was met by Salah who, again, covered for his right-flank partner.
This was a theme for the rest of the game. Rarely did Doku find himself one-on-one with Alexander-Arnold without the cavalry arriving moments after he controlled the ball. It was a collective effort featuring Konate, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai and Salah.
Individually, Alexander-Arnold adapted too. In the second half he remained noticeably narrower, in line with Liverpool’s shape. It allowed his team-mates time to recover and Doku was unable to beat him through quick feet as the defender was less aggressive.
The winger was still able to race past Alexander-Arnold on a handful of occasions but with much less frequency, and the right-back was in a much better position to limit Doku’s effectiveness.
In the first half, Alexander-Arnold had been unable to disrupt any of Doku’s crosses. But in the example below, he blocked the attempted delivery, which harmlessly bounced into the hands of goalkeeper Alisson.
Despite all of the success Doku had, it was his direct opponent who had the more meaningful creative influence. Alexander-Arnold played a key role in Liverpool’s sporadic attacking moments, and it was his lofted pass that set Salah away to assist Szoboszlai for his side’s second goal.
That, ultimately, is the definition of Alexander-Arnold. There are games when he is exposed defensively — even if head coach Arne Slot says his defending has improved this season — but so often he makes a significant impact at the other end of the pitch.
(Top photo: Molly Darlington/Copa/Getty Images)
