Jurgen Klopp hails 'exceptional' Trent Alexander-Arnold as Liverpool move joint top
Fulham 1 Liverpool 3
LIVERPOOL manager Jurgen Klopp praised the impact of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who returned to reignite his side’s Premier League title ambitions in a clinical victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage.
It was Alexander-Arnold’s sumptuous first half free-kick which settled Liverpool nerves and helped to send Klopp’s men back up to second place, level on points with Arsenal.
“It was a great goal from Trent and we needed it. Nobody is like Trent in the way he plays the game so and for a long time today Trent was exceptional, so it’s super-helpful to have him back.
“It was a complete performance in the second half. For us, Fulham is always a tough place to come. I can’t really explain it but from my point of view that was the best performance we have had at Fulham away.”
After Fulham equalised through Timothy Castagne, second-half goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Diogo Jota helped Liverpool recover their poise.
A victory that would otherwise be considered as routine was instead imbued with extra significance coming as it did at the end of a week that witnessed a surprise home defeat by Crystal Palace and a deflating exit from the Europa League.
Klopp will be reassured that his remaining month at Anfield should not now fade away in a blur of meaningless fixtures.
His team selection, leaving Mohamed Salah, Alexis Mac Allister and Darwin Nunez on the bench, was justified by the industrious nature of the performance their understudies served up.
Apart from a fourth-minute Luis Diaz header which glanced just wide of the far post, the early part of the game lacked much of the intensity that often characterises matches at Craven Cottage.
That was in part because of Fulham’s withdrawn formation, unwilling to expose
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