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Liverpool have had their fair share of special European nights over the years, with the famous comeback win against Barcelona back in 2019 in the Champions League – which saw the Reds overturn a 4-0 deficit – still sticking out as the Premier League giants at their thrilling best.

The entertainment levels weren’t through the roof in a similar fashion mid-week when Arne Slot’s men got the better of Barca’s arch rivals Real Madrid by a single goal, but the impressive all-round display would have definitely pleased the Anfield masses watching on.

Indeed, away from Alexis Mac Allister grabbing the winner, faces such as Florian Wirtz and Mohamed Salah also stood out, when they have otherwise failed to get going this season, with the heavily scapegoated German covering a staggering 11.37km in total.

To make the win even sweeter on Europe’s grandest stage, Liverpool managed to get one over on ex-star Trent Alexander-Arnold, who would only come on for the final few exchanges for Los Blancos.

Yet, despite a chorus of boos greeting his every touch, it’s clear – when analysing Liverpool’s wobbles this season – that they have desperately missed the creativity of their former homegrown product from the right-back spot.

Why Liverpool have missed Alexander-Arnold

Of course, all of the animosity directed towards the former number 66 comes from a place of pain that he deserted his hometown club for a shot in La Liga.

Being able to replace the creativity Alexander-Arnold possessed in spades at Anfield instantly was also going to be an extremely tough ask, with his ability to burst forward and cut open a defence for Liverpool, dubbing him a “dream for strikers” by Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Alexander-Arnold would become a modern-day icon at Liverpool, with a mighty 23 goals and 92 assists falling into his lap on Merseyside.

Liverpool had their work cut out for them in the summer to try and find an attacking full-back of the same calibre as the Englishman; therefore, with the Anfield giants presumably thinking they’d hit the jackpot with the capture of Milos Kerkez.

Unfortunately, the former AFC Bournemouth star – who amassed five Premier League assists last season – has no assists next to his name for Liverpool in league action, leading to him being branded as “out of his depth” by journalist Tim Spiers.

Thankfully, Conor Bradley showed the Liverpool masses why he could be in with a shout to be a long-term fix for Trent deserting the building.

He was phenomenal against the Spanish giants, dealing with the effervescent Vinicius Junior with an energetic display, seeing him win eight duels against Xabi Alonso’s visitors.

But, there was another standout performer on Wednesday night, who could be a surprise shout to be Slot’s next Trent-style figure.

Liverpool's new Trent is in midfield

Liverpool haven’t just experienced a crisis in the full-back areas this season, with the aforementioned Mac Allister struggling in the midfield areas in patches this campaign, too.

He does look to have exited his slump now, with the winning goal against the visitors from Madrid. Dominik Szoboszlai, on the other hand, has only gone from strength to strength this season, even as meltdowns have occurred around him.

The Hungarian would live up to his reputation for being a dead-ball specialist – which saw him hammer home a glorious free-kick against Arsenal earlier this season – against Alexander-Arnold’s new employers, with Mac Allister ultimately thankful for the 25-year-old’s incisive eye for an assist.

The two-time Premier League title winner would, time after time, also come up trumps when taking his very own corner kicks and corners at Anfield, with Szoboszlai now taking on this role expertly, as seen in him already picking up three Champions League assists for the campaign.

Minutes played

90

Goals scored

0

Assists

1

Touches

54

Shots

5

Accurate passes

30/39 (77%)

Key passes

3

Accurate crosses

3/3

Ball recoveries

6

Back in the bread and butter of the Premier League, Szoboszlai is in a league of his own in terms of progressive carries and crosses attempted.

Two standout characteristics of Alexander-Arnold’s expansive game in England, the Hungarian has registered 26 carries and 25 crosses already in 2025/26. That’s more than any midfielder in England’s top-flight this season.

Slot has even chucked the “unbelievable” number 8 – as he has glowingly labelled him – into the right-back spot on occasion this season, with their similarities almost becoming eerie at this point.

However, as was evidenced on Wednesday night, the 25-year-old can still be an influential figure – like the number 66 – from a number ten position.

More wins will no doubt be collected this season, off the back of Szoboszlai’s “genius” alone, as his former Reds boss Jurgen Klopp also labelled him.

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It doesn’t often occur in the Premier League, but Manchester City – even with Erling Haaland leading the line – drew a blank away at Aston Villa on Sunday.

In the end, a fiercely hit effort by Matty Cash in the first half would be the difference between the two sides, as the Citizens fell to their first league defeat since coming unstuck away at Brighton and Hove Albion at the close of August.

Tijjani Reijnders, in particular, struggled at Villa Park, with the number four’s early fall from grace at City a concerning tale to keep tabs on.

Why Reijnders was disappointing against Aston Villa

When the Dutchman has been given the freedom to express himself further up the pitch, he has been a joy to watch; however, with a goal confidently put away on his debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers, even seeing statistician Statman Dave herald him as being “De Bruyne’s heir.”

However, the ex-AC Milan man wasn’t played in a De Bruyne-style position against Unai Emery’s hosts, with Reijnders not looking so comfortable as an anchor figure for Guardiola’s side on their travels, who are still presumably reeling that Rodri remains in and out of the Etihad treatment room.

Tackles won

0

Interceptions

0

Clearances

1

Blocked shots

0

Ball recoveries

2

Total duels

0/7

While Reijnders did trudge off at the end of the 1-0 loss with just two passes not reaching their intended target, the 27-year-old did noticeably find it tricky to battle away for his losing side, with an alarming zero duels won from seven attempted.

Moreover, the £46.5m summer purchase also failed to win a single tackle, with Amadou Onana for the hosts – in stark contrast – winning a combined tally of two tackles and six duels, as Reijnders routinely lost every 50/50 and scuffle that came his way.

With Nico Gonzalez also out injured, it remains to be seen what option Guardiola will go with in the games to come in the defensive midfield spot on the pitch, with Reijnders clearly not cut out for the demands of the position long-term.

He isn’t alone, though, in being worried about his first-team spot moving forward, with this “wasteful” attacker – as he was branded by journalist Amos Murphy – also in some bother about his immediate future in the Spaniard’s main XI.

The 5/10 City star who must be dropped

Watching back over the highlights from Villa Park, it’s clear that City could have nicked at least a point on another day if they had packed their shooting boots and weren’t so “toothless”, as they were branded by journalist David Mooney at the full-time whistle.

Indeed, Haaland uncharacteristically fluffed a one-on-one opportunity directly after Cash’s sweetly struck opener, with Savinho also falling victim to some poor finishing himself, when two chances in quick succession in the second 45 minutes passed him by.

Minutes played

84

Goals scored

0

Assists

0

Touches

50

Shots

2

Accurate passes

22/31 (71%)

Accurate passes in the opposition half

15/28 (54%)

Accurate crosses

0/5

Possession lost

18x

Successful dribbles

1/4

Total duels won

3/9

His overall play in attacking positions, away from spurning some big chances, also makes for some pretty grim reading, with Savinho only managing to make 15 accurate passes when in the opposition’s half of the pitch, leading to him giving away possession a mammoth 18 times.

On top of that, the lacklustre Brazilian could only muster up one successful dribble from his 84-minute stint in the West Midlands, alongside further failing to complete a single accurate cross to try and pick out the likes of Haaland, who can strike fear into any defenders he’s coming up against at a moment’s notice.

Savinho will surely now sense that his starting spot is on thin ice, with only one assist next to his name from his four Premier League starts this season, not exactly the most glowing track record.

Manchester Evening News journalist Simon Bajkowski would hand out a low 5/10 rating to the 21-year-old, subsequently, who stated that Savinho was ‘largely poor’ when attempting to unlock Villa, away from a promising effort here and there on Emiliano Martinez’s well-guarded net.

Cutting a forlorn figure at the close of the slim 1-0 defeat, Guardiola will have many a selection issue to address ahead of City facing off against AFC Bournemouth at the beginning of November, with both Reijnders and Savinho potentially removed from his starting lineup for the test of the Cherries.

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