Jurgen Klopp Defends Young Liverpool Defender Following Tough Afternoon Against Man Utd

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has spoken in defence of Trent Alexander-Arnold, after the 19-year-old received some criticism following the Reds' 2-1 loss against Manchester United, reports Liverpool Echo.

The English right-back struggled against the pace and threat of Marcus Rashford, as the United forward escaped Alexander-Arnold for the opening goal at Old Trafford, before his shot deflected off the young defender to put the Red Devils 2-0 up within the first 30minutes. 

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Although Klopp admitted that Liverpool's defence let them down on Saturday, he was quick to defend the young Liverpool star, despite substituting him off in the second-half.

During post-match analysis on Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher and Graeme Souness discussed Alexander-Arnold's role in United's first goal. And when Klopp was told of their opinions, he did not completely agree.

“Who were the pundits?” he asked. “Rashford is coming at 100mph in that situation, Trent makes this move, he cuts back and then there needed to be another player.

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“Could Trent have done better? Probably. But could he have solved the situation alone? There needs to be a second player," stated the Liverpool boss.

Seemingly not happy by the remarks of the former Liverpool stars, Klopp declared that they would've made similar mistakes when they were playing.

“Pundits are former defenders and unfortunately they made similar things, in similar situations. It was a brilliant goal from Rashford. One of them (Carragher) was for sure, a full back from time to time when he was young,” said Klopp.

It was not just Liverpool's defence that struggled to perform on Saturday, as their usually potent attack were kept quiet by Mourinho's side. However, again, Klopp denied any frustrations with his players, instead claiming is was the defensive errors that cost his team.

“How can I be frustrated when you play against a world class team like Manchester United and don't create a lot of chances?” said the German manager.

“We had enough chances to win, we're just not allowed to concede. I'm not frustrated we didn't create more, if you're 2-0 down you're not at your best.

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“It's like getting a knock – you're a little bit dizzy, you have to play football, the whole world is watching. Anything can happen when you're 2-0 down – they can get the third, the fourth, then it's a disaster. So we made something of it.

“We have to defend these two situations better from all areas, then you have opportunities, even against a deep defending side."