Man City showed Liverpool their hidden quality to prove Trent Alexander-Arnold wrong

Liverpool may have used Trent Alexander-Arnold's 'it means more' comments as fuel against Manchester City this weekend - but the Blues squad insist the pre-match row played little part in their preparations at Anfield.

Alexander-Arnold was injured on Sunday but dominated the build-up after an interview was published where he claimed Liverpool's titles under Jurgen Klopp meant more to them and their fans compared to City's superior trophy haul due to the 'financial situations' of both clubs.

Some City players publicly knocked down the Liverpool defender, while Kyle Walker admitted the squad had spoken about the comments in the training ground. But defender Manuel Akanji insisted that there was more bemusement among the City squad rather than a sense of using the comment as pre-match motivation.

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"I don't think [it had an impact]. They probably tried [for it] to matter, but I don't think it affected us," Akanji said, visibly confused at Alexander-Arnold's position. "In the end we tried to go on the pitch and show our performance. It didn't affect me.

"I don't know why he said it. He didn't even play today. He can't tell [if it means more] because he didn't win it. If he won three or five titles in one year, like we did last year, then he can speak again."

Reflecting on City's performance, Akanji believed that while there was disappointment at throwing away a lead, the Blues were able to use Liverpool's second half pressure to showcase a defensive resilience that will bode well for the final 10 games of the season.

"You can see it was a different game than