Virgil van Dijk addresses Trent Alexander-Arnold situation after showing visible fury at Liverpool co-star's poor performance against Man Utd

Alexander-Arnold had one of his worst games in recent memory for Liverpool in his side's 2-2 draw with Man United at Anfield on Sunday. At one point in the match, Reds captain Van Dijk appeared to be furious with the England international but afterwards he came to his team-mate's aid.

He said: “Trent has his own people around him, his family and we are there as well. He wants to perform in the best way possible like we all do. That is the main focus. In my opinion, maybe ask him, that is the distraction… the game.”

Van Dijk also hinted his displeasure during the game was directed at the team and not an individual.

He added: “We could and should have done better in having the ball, keeping it longer. We should have done better, especially after going 2-1 up. We were sloppy and let them come back. United came back into the game because of their quality but we lost the ball too easily in difficult moments. Spaces became much bigger than they should have been.”

This comes at a time when the 26-year-old, who is in the last six months of his Liverpool contract, is wanted by Real Madrid but some believe this transfer uncertainty is affecting his performances. Reds boss Arne Slot will hope the right-back can get back to his best and help deliver them trophies this season, even if he doesn't extend his contract.

It will be interesting to see how Alexander-Arnold responds to this performance when he faces Tottenham in the Carabao Cup semi-finals on Wednesday.