One Liverpool star has Steven Gerrard’s ability.
That’s according to retired footballer Rio Ferdinand, who has made a post-retirement living in the world of punditry.
The former defender, who made his name playing for Manchester United in the glory years of Sir Alex Ferguson, spoke in glowing terms about one Liverpool star following the 5-0 demolition of Atalanta.
This game was supposed to be the trickiest of the lot. Ajax are good, Midtjylland are trendy, but this Serie A team were meant to be the real deal. They nearly beat PSG in the Champions League last season and have scored heaps of goals in the league this season.
All of which makes the result, and the manner in which the Bergamo side were completely and utterly dismantled, all the more sweeter. Liverpool were swashbuckling moving forward, solid at the back and completely disorientated Atalanta.
Maybe Rio was feeling very overcome by this all, and maybe that’s what led him to make a pretty massive statement about TAA after the game – as per the Echo.
"“Ability-wise, you can’t question this kid – he’s got everything, his passing, going forward, the way he sees things. Defensively, it’s the only thing you could pick out.“I don’t think there’s anyone that can get near him because his range of passing over different distances, it’s too much. That’s Steven Gerrard at Anfield.”"
Normally you’d reserve praise of that kind, especially comparing a Liverpool star to an icon like Steven Gerrard, to someone who actually plays in that position.
Oh no. Curtis Jones might have pulled off an excellent pass for his assist, but he wasn’t the one lapping up Ferdinand’s plaudits. It was Trent Alexander-Arnold.
We know that the right-back has got a breathtaking array of passing. He’s one of the creative hubs of the side and those sublime, width of the pitch diagonals, are the stuff that legends are made of.
Rio agrees with this, and has led the comparisons to Gerrard. We could be seeing the next icon grow up right in front of and we should all make the most of it.
With Alexander-Arnold, Jones, Neco Williams and Rhys Williams in the squad on Tuesday night, we had a strong local core and that’s brilliant to see.