"Killed him" - Liverpool duo called out for exposing Alexander-Arnold against Brighton | OneFootball

Former Liverpool striker David Thompson feels Trent Alexander-Arnold was left hung out to dry by Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita in the 2-1 FA Cup defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Alexander-Arnold came up against the in-form Kaoru Mitoma, who gave him a tough time with his pace and guile on the ball. In the second half, the England international was withdrawn in favor of James Milner, who was tasked with keeping the Japanese winger at bay for the rest of the game.

Mitoma went on to score the winner to dump Liverpool out of the FA Cup, but Thompson quickly pointed out after the game on his Twitter account that Alexander-Arnold was left exposed on the right flank due to Salah and Keita's deficiencies.

"If I’m Trent today I’m calling out two players who have hung him out to dry Salah and Keita killed him all day leaving him exposed and pretending to track back giving it away every time!!!"

The Liverpool right-back was visibly unhappy when his number came up on the board and cut a frustrated figure on the bench after being withdrawn. Speaking after the game, as cited by Anfield Watch's Twitter account, Jurgen Klopp admitted that Alexander-Arnold didn't get enough defensive support from his teammates.

"On the left side, Robbo was ok because we helped him but on the other side Trent didn't get the support."

ANFIELD WATCH VERDICT

Trent has endured a tough season so far - much like the rest of the Liverpool team - but the Reds' current setup is part of the problem. As Thompson and Klopp pointed out, he didn't get enough defensive support against Brighton yesterday, due to which Mitoma took matters into his own hands and ran the show for the Seagulls.

However, Trent was fuming while getting subbed off, indicating that his frustrations are starting to get the better of him. With Milner not getting any younger and Calvin Ramsey not experienced enough to deputize for him, the 24-year-old needs to pull up his socks in the coming weeks if the Reds are to defend better as a unit.