Trent Alexander-Arnold takes centre stage as Liverpool brush aside Accrington

Trent Alexander-Arnold led from the front as Liverpool eased into the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 4-0 victory over Accrington.

A week after one of the worst performances of his career against Manchester United, the England international, captain in the absence of Virgil van Dijk, put in a commanding display which was topped with the important second goal.

While the level of opposition had to be taken into account – League Two Stanley are 86 places lower than the Premier League leaders – Alexander-Arnold was determined to ensure there was no upset.

He had a hand in the counter-attack which saw Diogo Jota open the scoring before whipping in a brilliant, angled shot just before the break.

The 18-year-old Jayden Danns, one of the young stars of last year’s Carabao Cup final victory, scored his third FA Cup goal in only his second appearance in the competition before fellow substitute Federico Chiesa marked an encouraging 45-minute cameo with his first goal since joining from Juventus in the summer.

If there had been any doubt about Alexander-Arnold’s commitment to the cause with his contract expiring in the summer, his desire and ability to control the game nominally from right-back showed real leadership in the 60 minutes he was on the pitch in a freezing yet torpid atmosphere of a 12.15pm kick-off.

In reality, the 26-year-old, whose appearance off the bench in the controversial midweek Carabao Cup defeat at Tottenham improved Liverpool’s performance, spent most of the game alongside Tyler Morton in central midfield in Arne Slot’s 4-1-4-1 formation, with Jota and Dominik Szoboszlai operating as twin number 10s.

Stanley had successfully packed the central area in order to stifle Alexander-Arnold’s creativity, but they