James Pearce was left in awe of a ‘sensational’ moment from one Liverpool player during the first half of this afternoon’s Premier League clash against Aston Villa.
The Reds took an early lead through Dominik Szoboszlai and doubled their advantage on 22 minutes when the unfortunate Matty Cash diverted the ball into his own net after Darwin Nunez’s shot cannoned off the post.
The chance came about from one of the passes of the season from Trent Alexander-Arnold, who lofted the ball from just inside his own half to pick out Mo Salah near the Villans’ penalty area, with the Egyptian then picking out his fellow attacker to shoot.
Posting updates on Twitter/X from Anfield, Pearce gushed: “Another sensational pass from TAA. Salah inside to Nunez, his shot hammers against the post and rebound hits Cash and flies into his own net.”
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Another sensational pass from TAA. Salah inside to Nunez, his shot hammers against the post and rebound hits Cash and flies into his own net.
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) September 3, 2023
Trent won’t be credited with an assist given what transpired after the pass, but the ease with which he picked out Salah from half the length of the pitch illustrates why he’s one of the best players in the Premier League with the ball at his feet.
The 24-year-old endured a difficult afternoon up against Anthony Gordon at St James’ Park a week ago, but with that sublime pickout midway through the first half today (one of 55 accurate passes he made in the opening 45 minutes), he showed why he’s a constant presence in the Liverpool starting XI.
Few players in world football, never mind England, can pick out a pass from distance quite like the Reds’ captain for this afternoon, and you can be sure that the right-back’s teammates and manager will be patting him on the back over the moment that Pearce justifiably dubbed ‘sensational’.
#Ep88 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️