{"id":1292981,"date":"2022-12-26T19:40:05","date_gmt":"2022-12-26T19:40:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1292981"},"modified":"2022-12-26T19:42:56","modified_gmt":"2022-12-26T19:42:56","slug":"liverpool-aston-villa-darwin-nunez-andrew-robertson-trent-alexander-arnold","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/liverpool-aston-villa-darwin-nunez-andrew-robertson-trent-alexander-arnold\/","title":{"rendered":"The internet reacts to Darwin Nunez and Liverpool’s Cafu-Roberto connection in win over Aston Villa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold rolled back the years as they helped Liverpool beat Aston Villa in the Premier League’s return from the World Cup.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Liverpool went into the World Cup break on a run of two consecutive wins in the league, but they hadn’t managed to string together three in a row this season. They marked their return to competitive action with a defeat to Manchester City in the EFL Cup, but the Premier League proved to be a much happier hunting ground.<\/p>\n

Travelling to Aston Villa, Liverpool were eighth by the time they kicked off, but within minutes they had lifted themselves up the table, closing the gap on fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.<\/p>\n

In the moments before the goal, the focus was on Darwin Nunez and how he had run over a ball when strikers in confidence might have tried to connect, with Villa eventually playing it out for a corner. Robertson took the kick but the ball was cleared, eventually falling to Alexander-Arnold. As Villa looked to push up the pitch while also trying to get back into shape, Alexander-Arnold played a beautiful pass with the outside of his foot to Robertson, who crossed with his first touch for Mohamed Salah to tap in from close range.<\/p>\n

It was a pass worthy of a pre-assist, given how it broke open the Villa defence, and will be remembered just as much as Robertson actually teeing up the goal. For Robertson, it was his 54th assist in the Premier League, moving him one clear of Leighton Baines as the defender with the most assists in the division’s history<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But perhaps more significant for Liverpool and their fans was the fact that the goal brought a much-sought after Robertson x Alexander-Arnold linkup. While Robertson has been flying this season, a lot of focus has been on Alexander-Arnold not hitting his usually high levels of creativity, or at least a lack of assists (still awaiting his first in the league this season).<\/p>\n

This may not have counted for an Alexander-Arnold assist, but it served as a reminder of what he could do, for those who had forgotten. It was during the 2018\/19 season that Alexander-Arnold and Robertson truly starting to thrive, combining to assist 23 times in the Premier League, with the Englishman just coming out on top at 12 vs the Scot’s 11.<\/p>\n

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    A year later they were even more crucial for Liverpool, with Alexander-Arnold assisting 13 and Robertson 12 to help the Reds end a long wait for the Premier League title, blowing the rest of the division away. At the time, the duo were being compared to Roberto Carlos and Cafu, and they resurfaced on Monday evening after Liverpool went 1-0 up.<\/p>\n

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    Robertson x Trent Alexander-Arnold pic.twitter.com\/Za3QP89btc<\/a><\/p>\n

    — Shwet. (@trent2robbo) December 26, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n