Jurgen Klopp dismisses confidence issue for Trent Alexander-Arnold

He capped off a routine Alexander-Arnold performance, strewn with gifts for Crystal Palace, which thankfully went unpunished.

After the match, Klopp was asked if the number 66 was suffering from a lack of confidence, which the manager dismissed without hesitation.

“No. He was definitely one of the very, very, very, very best players in the few games we’ve won,” Klopp said.

“It’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and when he’s not performing everyone talks about it.

“When he performs nobody talks about it, except when he is involved in the goal. “He’s scored great goals in the last two games – Newcastle and I think Everton.

“He’s fine, it’s just the number of games. We dropped him off and he has one more day off and then he’ll be fine.

Alexander-Arnold has played 31 of Liverpool’s 35 games so far this season and has played the third most minutes of any Reds (2,451).

Since becoming a first-team regular in 2017/18, the 24-year-old has appeared in 245 of Liverpool’s 317 games, or 77.3 per cent.

However, Klopp seemingly ignored his own warning, saying in 2020: “Robbo and Trent, let’s say they can’t play 50 games every season – that would limit their careers, to be honest.”

On the decision to withdraw Alexander-Arnold against Palace, Klopp said: “It was just clear. “Trent plays all the games for us, then we have to make [decisions] from time to time.

“We thought before the game if it was too much for him or anything, but then he started. That’s all.

“The reason was purely because of that. Nothing else.”