Man City draw exposes Liverpool gap that threatens to spoil Jurgen Klopp’s title bid again

When it comes to replacing his dynamism on the right flank, Liverpool come up empty-handed. There is no like-for-like stand-in for the Reds academy graduate – unlike Kostas Tsimikas, who has proven himself a capable understudy to the equally vital Andrew Robertson this season.

Perhaps that’s understandable. When fit, Alexander-Arnold is going to start, so it can be a bit of a hard sell to try and entice someone to come in at Anfield in that spot.

But Sunday’s game has highlighted the need to tackle that issue head-on – even if Alexander-Arnold could be back after the international break.

A freak injury crisis in defence ended up ultimately costing Liverpool their Premier League crown last season, as they managed to limp to a top-four finish.

But even with Virgil van Dijk back, a prolonged absence for Alexander-Arnold could see history repeat itself again this year.

Although van Dijk has a massive impact on Liverpool, Alexander-Arnold’s importance to Klopp’s side at both ends of the pitch means he’d arguably be a bigger loss where he to be missing a sustained spell.

“We have three or more options for the position,” was Klopp’s defiant message ahead of the City game.

You’d argue that Milner is probably the most consistent of the lot – and he wasn’t up to the task when it mattered. The pressure is on Klopp and Liverpool to find someone who is.