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Liverpool news: Michael Owen excited about one star after PSG win - ‘What a game he had’
LIVERPOOL right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold seriously impressed Michael Owen in the Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
Alexander-Arnold started the match at Anfield and helped Liverpool beat French giants PSG 3-2.
The England international had the unenviable task of marking Brazil superstar Neymar.
However, the 19-year-old dealt with Neymar well and took advantage of the forward’s lack of defensive discipline in the opposite direction.
BT Sport pundit Owen was not impressed by the defensive work-rate of Neymar.
What a game he had. He is a serious young footballer isn’t he
However, he was happy with the way Alexander-Arnold exploited the PSG man throughout the match.
“Alexander-Arnold was the out-ball all day long,” Owen said.
“What a game he had. He is a serious young footballer isn’t he.
“Every time they played it to Trent, it would be [Angel] Di Maria coming out from the middle because Neymar wasn’t tracking back. So it was killing Di Maria really.
“I wanted to see Liverpool keep switching the play and switching the play all the time, because that was always the out ball.
“As we all know, Neymar’s not a defensive player. At this level, you need to have some sort of discipline I feel.”
Former Liverpool left-back John Arne Riise was working alongside Owen for BT Sport.
And the Norwegian was also impressed with Alexander-Arnold and fellow full-back Andy Robertson.
“We spoke before the game about Robertson and Trent that they were up against [Kylian] Mbappe and Neymar,” Riise said.
“They had a very poor game, Mbappe and Neymar.
“Is it because they weren’t ready? Or is it because Trent and Robertson played really well? I think it was because they played so well.
“Every time they got the ball, Robertson was so close to Mbappe, he didn’t have any space to run at him.
“They had done their homework before the game.”