The picture of Trent Alexander-Arnold in front of the away end at full time against Brighton painted a thousand words, as the soon-to-be former Liverpool star stared stony-faced at the supporters who used to chant his name.
Alexander-Arnold confirmed he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season a fortnight ago, and this was only Liverpool’s second game since that announcement.
The first came on May 11, when the 26-year-old started on the bench and was then booed by thousands of supporters upon his introduction during the second half. Speaking a press conference on Friday, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot said he was keen for the Alexander-Arnold issue to be consigned to the past.
“Last week, people talked about it to me, then we had the reaction of the fans inside the stadium, then all the pundits talked about it, all the country talked about it, and now it’s time to draw a line under it,” Slot said. “Let’s focus on the fact we won the league, and let’s enjoy the upcoming week and not talk about the Trent situation.”
Slot would not say whether Alexander-Arnold would feature against Brighton, but the answer became clear on Monday, and that answer was no.
Unlike Alexis Mac Allister and Diogo Jota, who were given the night off altogether, Alexander-Arnold was called upon to travel down to the South Coast with his teammates.
He spent the entire game on the bench, only taking to the field during the pregame warmup, and to acknowledge the traveling supporters following the final whistle.
Brilliant TV footage showed the contrast between the glum expression on Alexander-Arnold’s face and the jubilant atmosphere in the away end.
Despite seeing their team lose for the third time in seven games, the Reds supporters in attendance at the American Express Stadium were in good voice, singing along to Freed by Desire, which was being played over the stadium speakers to celebrate the home team’s win.
While the supporters in the away end were jumping up and down and throwing their arms up in the air, Alexander-Arnold stood with his hands on his hips before turning away and making his way toward the players’ tunnel.
As for the game itself, Liverpool took the lead twice, through goals from Harvey Elliott and then Dominik Szoboszlai, but ended up losing 3-2, leaving the team without a win since the title-clinching 5-1 victory over Tottenham at the end of April.
