Trent Alexander-Arnold stressed the importance of Liverpool’s win over Fulham in the context of the Premier League title race and explained why it left Virgil van Dijk “stunned”. The Reds beat the Cottagers on Sunday and vice-captain Alexander-Arnold opened the game with a superb free-kick which was later ruled an own goal after Bernd Leno’s strike.
But the 25-year-old remained unchallenged and, after taking his foot off the gas, completed Liverpool’s comeback from 3-2 down with two minutes of normal time remaining. Wataru Endo’s stirring introduction sparked a comeback for Alexander-Arnold with his first Premier League goal before heading home to make it 4-3.After the game, England felt they were in desperate need of a win, with leaders Arsenal securing a 2-1 win over Wolves earlier in the afternoon. “I don’t know if I can put it into words, I’m so happy,” Alexander-Arnold told Liverpolfc.com.”We needed three points and when Arsenal got a result we had to keep it close.
At this time of the year you build the momentum of Christmas and January and when you come out of it you have games in a row. February 3 You can win in february too… “This is not the time to lose points,” he said.The win moves Liverpool into second place, two points behind the Gunners, following Manchester City’s 3-3 draw at home to Tottenham Hotspur. But Alexander-Arnold admits he is not perfect. “We had a home game and dominated the game, but the three goals we conceded were sloppy,” he said.”In the end we were punished for our carelessness.
We weren’t lucky. We took advantage of the time when we couldn’t, but it was important for us to get the three points.”The scenes after Alexander-Arnold scored the winning goal showed just how important the attack was and explained why captain Virgil van Dijk was unhappy with his presence.
“I think you can see how important this is in the holidays,” the right-back said. “I had a big wound in my knee and I didn’t want to open it up again with a knee brace, so I thought I had to do something. “When you look at his emotions, you can see how important he is to the team and the fans.”Asked if the captain had thanked him, Alexander-Arnold continued: “He (Van Dijk) has injured his knee. Because it was the first time I’d ever seen someone with knees so calm and quiet they looked like they were skating.
The slide shows how important he is to the team.”It was very important to be at the top of the table. “We have a big week coming up midweek and it was nice to have some momentum.”The Reds travel to basement Sheffield United on Wednesday as they look to keep the pressure on Arsenal.
