Liverpool have found their Alexander-Arnold alternative

Robin Bairner

• 10 Nov 2022 14:23 GMT
• 3 min read

Liverpool’s Carabao Cup win over Derby County on penalties may not have been a performance that is long remembered at Anfield, yet it might just be the game in which Jurgen Klopp found his alternative for Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Summer signing Calvin Ramsay was handed his first start for the Reds having made a summer move worth €5 million from Aberdeen, and the teenager provided a man-of-the-match display to match the occasion.

Injuries have prevented the 19-year-old from making a quick start to life at Liverpool, but now that he’s on the field, it looks like he’s slotting in perfectly to the club.

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Ramsay's impressive Liverpool start

The right-back role has been one that has been a problem position for Jurgen Klopp this season. Teams have exploited Alexander-Arnold’s lack of defensive sense and have regularly exploited Liverpool down that right channel. He looks a player in need of respite, and without an available senior right-back, he has been unable to gain that.

Ramsay showed with his midweek display, though, that he could soon offer a legitimate alternative option.

There was certainly no lack of confidence on display from the manner in which he played against Derby. Within four minutes of his full debut, he had broken forward and fired a shot just wide of the target, setting the tone for what was an adventurous evening from the teenager. He was happy to break into spaces and delivered some dangerous crosses.

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Indeed, no Liverpool player completed more successful passes or completed more passes in the Derby half.

Ramsay’s next big test will come against an opponent in which he is forced to defend more because Derby didn’t challenge him significantly in this regard, but he has shown that he deserves the opportunity to mov up a level after an accomplished full debut.

It is competition that Liverpool and Alexander-Arnold should welcome.