Joey Barton says Liverpool were essentially ‘playing with 10 men’ against Manchester United as Trent Alexander-Arnold was a ‘passenger’ throughout. The England right-back had a torrid afternoon in Sunday’s clash at Anfield, with both of United’s goals coming down his side of the pitch.
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Alexander-Arnold gave the ball away before Manchester United broke the deadlock, before being booked in the latter stages and then hooked by Liverpool boss Arne Slot. Anfield legend Jamie Carragher was critical of Alexander-Arnold’s performance and suggested he may have been distracted by talk of a stunning move to Real Madrid.
Liverpool rejected a £20m bid from Madrid last week and the La Liga giants are now considering returning with a second, improved offer. Ex-United defender Gary Neville, meanwhile, said his former club targeted Alexander-Arnold ‘from the first minute’.
Former Premier League midfielder Barton suggested Alexander-Arnold was already ‘mentally’ in the Spanish capital and said he was ‘non-existent’ against Manchester United. United had suffered four defeats on the bounce prior to their trip to Anfield but produced a much-improved performance to hold Premier League leaders Liverpool to a 2-2 draw.
‘Liverpool could do with putting Trent on,’ Barton posted on X during the game, before ripping into the England star after the stalemate. ‘Trent clearly mentally in Madrid. Not worth 50p on that showing. If Liverpool played with 11 for the full game, they’d have won that.
