'Maybe it has to do with the contract situation' - Arne Slot hits back at Trent Alexander-Arnold's critics after Liverpool star scores stunner in FA Cup win

Liverpool comfortably advanced to the fourth round of the FA Cup with a commanding 4-0 victory over League Two side Accrington Stanley on Saturday afternoon. Goals from Diogo Jota, captain Trent Alexander-Arnold, substitute Jayden Danns and Federico Chiesa secured the win at Anfield, ensuring the Reds stayed competitive on all four fronts this season.

Alexander-Arnold scored the second of the afternoon as he let fly from the edge of the box into the top corner of the net. It was one sensational strike that led Liverpool fans to urge the club to tie him down to a new contract amid Real Madrid interest. However, the right-back was widely criticized for a defensive error during Liverpool’s 2-1 loss to Manchester United, which led to an early goal by Lisandro Martínez. Among his detractors was Roy Keane, who mockingly suggested Alexander-Arnold would be more suited to playing for League Two club Tranmere Rovers than for Real Madrid.

Speaking after the match, Slot was quick to defend his captain, saying: “I could talk for hours about that (goal), unbelievable. The biggest compliment Trent could get was the reaction of everyone after the Manchester United game. Every player around the world, maybe except for a few, has a bad game and that is completely normal, but the moment Trent has one, everyone has an opinion about it. Maybe that is because of the contract situation. I don’t know if that wasn’t there if people would have reacted in the same way. You have such a great first half of the season and you don’t play a good game against United – and that was clear for me, for you, the fans and the analysts who saw the game – but many of them were quite hard on him. I think it was good for him to play in our own stadium and feel the reception of the fans again, it was also special again today and that can only help him and us.”

Alexander-Arnold’s current contract with Liverpool is set to expire at the end of the season, leaving him free to negotiate with other clubs this month. Reports suggest that Real Madrid are confident of securing his services, either through a pre-contract agreement in January or a formal transfer in the summer.

Liverpool’s attention now turns to a crucial Premier League encounter against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday. Nuno Espírito Santo’s Forest side currently sit third in the league table, just six points behind Liverpool, and remain the only team to have defeated the Reds this season. Alexander-Arnold’s performance will undoubtedly be under the spotlight once again, as he looks to build on his impressive showing in the FA Cup.