Trent Alexander-Arnold comments speak volumes after Man City crisis deepens

Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold has refused to get carried away despite Manchester City suffering a second straight defeat in the Premier League on Saturday.

The Reds were already two points clear of City heading into Saturday's games, but Pep Guardiola's team lost 2-1 to Brighton to offer Liverpool the chance of extending its lead to five points. Liverpool and City have become bitter rivals over the past decade due to constantly competing for titles, but Alexander-Arnold has refused to celebrate anything until a trophy is placed in his hand.

Speaking ahead of Liverpool's game against Aston Villa on Saturday, Alexander-Arnold said: "It's still early doors but we have set a good foundation for the rest of the season. We have been here before. We've had good starts to a season before and ended up with no trophies."

Liverpool may have ended its 30-year wait for a Premier League title during the 2019-20 season, but the Reds haven't been able to repeat the success since. Alexander-Arnold has become an experienced player in this Liverpool side and is aware of how competitive the title race can be.

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Alexander-Arnold ended up leaving Saturday's game early after suffering an injury, exiting the field after 25 minutes and being replaced by Conor Bradley. Liverpool head coach Arne Slot now faces an anxious wait as Alexander-Arnold is evaluated, but he still fully believes in the depth of his squad.

Very few fans expected Liverpool to challenge for the title this season, as the majority expected a two-horse race between City and Arsenal. Slot has exceeded most expectations and made a stunning start, but the head coach admitted in Friday's press conference that he isn't surprised by their results.

When asked if he was surprised by the fast start, Slot said: "I don't think surprised is the right word to use because I knew the quality of our team. But quality is one thing, to be consistent is a second thing and I'm not surprised by this because the moment I started working with them, I saw how much energy they put in on a daily basis.

"I think that is the reason why you can be consistent. If you do the work every day, you can be consistent and sometimes a bit of luck comes with that as well. Most of our results were deserved but I think some of them were a close call and then you may have a bit of luck as well.

"But in general, I'm not surprised because of the quality I already thought was in the team and when I started working with them I also saw how much effort they put in to get these results." Slot was also asked how he's been managing expectations from within the squad, but admitted that the demands are only related to individual input.

"I'm not trying to manage expectations with the squad because we don't talk about expectations," Slot added. "Well, we do talk about expectations and the only expectation I have is that they put the same effort in on a daily basis like they have done for the past four or five months and probably for the past six or seven years.

"That is the only expectation that there is. That they work every day as hard as they can to get our habits that we want to see on the pitch in the best possible way, and with that normally results come as well.

"But I'm not asking them to win every game. I'm hoping they do, but I am asking for them to put the effort in on a daily basis and that's the only thing we focus on. I think first of all after Saturday, the players think about the national team and when they come back we focus on the games we were just talking about [against Real Madrid and Manchester City]."