Very few Liverpool players covered themselves in glory against Manchester United, but Trent Alexander-Arnold came in for particular critcism — with his poor performance linked in the eyes of many (but not Arne Slot) to the uncertainty over his future at the club. However, Chris Sutton believes the backlash has been unfair.

A perceived lack of effort did the vice-captain no favors; footage of Alexander-Arnold tracking back only half-heartedly after giving the ball away in the first place has understandably not gone down well. It wouldn't be well-received in any game, but it's utterly unforgivable against Manchester United.

And the optics are even worse amid the increasing intensity of links to Real Madrid. Fairly or not, this did nothing to dispel the idea that the 26-year-old has all but checked out, as he enters what might be his final six months at Anfield.

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But of course, he could yet stay. His "all talk" celebration in the recent win over West Ham would look frankly bizarre if he really did have an agreement with Real Madrid in place, and Liverpool has supposedly put a bumper offer on the table.

All in all, while it may be well-intentioned, Alexander-Arnold's insistence that the contract saga will not play out in public is probably doing him no favors. His radio silence has led supporters to the least charitable view of the sub-par showing against Manchester United, when in normal circumstances he would have near-limitless credit in the bank to ride out a poor game or two.

Even so, perhaps fans have been a little quick to turn on Alexander-Arnold. Sutton certainly thinks so: "Where has this pile-on for Trent [Alexander-Arnold] come from?" Sutton mused on the BBC. "Trent has been brilliant in a Liverpool jersey and all of a sudden, you want him out the door. Blimey."

Naturally, nobody is suggesting that Alexander-Arnold should leave the club simply on the basis of his performance levels. He is not being hounded out on the back of one bad game.

Rather, the issue at play is whether he is in the right headspace to play for the club, if indeed he has now set his heart on Real Madrid. If these are the showings (and, crucially, effort levels) we can expect until the end of the campaign, Slot would be better off using Conor Bradley for the remainder of the title tilt.

But Sutton is skirting around one truth: it is too soon to draw such sweeping conclusions about Alexander-Arnold and his motivations. He could not have picked a worse time to produce such a lackluster performance, but for now, he has surely earned the benefit of the doubt.

Liverpool.com says: There is a certain irony in the fact that if Alexander-Arnold is wavering, the speed with which fans have turned on him may well help him to make up his mind. But he must understand that the only reason he is facing this backlash is because his silence in the face of the speculation has led many to assume he has already made his decision to leave.

Sutton has potentially missed that point, seeing only the fierce criticism in response to an isolated poor display. Hopefully, Alexander-Arnold sees it for what it is — these are the same fans who have constantly defended him ever since his emergence on the scene, and they will be firmly in his corner again if only he commits to his boyhood club.