Trent Alexander-Arnold Goal Gives Liverpool Fans Familiar Feeling

Trent Alexander-Arnold took Liverpool another step closer to confirming its 2024/25 Premier League title win, scoring a goal having come on as a substitute in the second half against Leicester City on Sunday.

It was the game’s only goal, and meant Liverpool could secure its status as league champion with a win against Tottenham Hotspur next weekend, or even sooner if Arsenal loses its game against Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

Alexander-Arnold’s celebration showed how much the goal meant to him and the fans. He removed his shirt and ran to the traveling Liverpool supporters situated in the away section for what was a passionate celebration.

With Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk having recently signed new contracts at the club, Alexander-Arnold is the only one of the three, whose futures were up in the air for most of the campaign, who hasn’t yet committed to a new deal.

The speculation has been such that a move to Real Madrid on a free transfer is expected, if not confirmed, but moments like this and the intensity of the celebration offered new hope that a u-turn could still happen, and he might yet remain at Liverpool.

Before Alexander-Arnold’s introduction in the 71st minute, Liverpool had been unable to finish any of the chances it had created against a Leicester team that is second from bottom of the Premier League, but the 26-year-old’s strike gave the game some great narrative and ultimately gave Liverpool the win it deserved given the chances it created.

Leicester City away has a special place in the hearts of Liverpool fans in a title-winning season. The last time Liverpool lifted the Premier League trophy, it was Leicester City 0, Liverpool 4 on Boxing Day 2019, that convinced many Liverpool fans that theirs was a team that could end the club’s 30-year wait for a 19th league title.

That 2019/20 campaign was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, but though the record books indicate a long period without football between March and June 2020, Liverpool all but had its name on the trophy even before the season was interrupted and resumed with games behind closed doors. Leicester away played a big part in that feeling.

“I’ve had some good moments in this stadium, to be honest, I’ve scored a few goals here,” Alexander-Arnold pointed out after scoring in Sunday‘s 1-0 win. Indeed, he scored the fourth goal in that 4-0 win in 2019.

Liverpool defeated Bournemouth 2-1 on March 2, 2020, to go 25 points clear of second-place Man City.

At that point of the season, Liverpool was on 82 points and second-place Manchester City was on 57. By the end of the season, City would only reach a tally of 81.

If Liverpool had not played another game when the league resumed play in June, the nearest challenger still wouldn’t have managed enough points to catch the league leader.

As it was, Liverpool racked up a total of 99 points by the end of the season, the second highest in English football top-flight history, after Man City’s 100 in 2018.

Fast forward to 2025, and Leicester away has once again witnessed a big moment, though not quite in the same manner as 2019.

This could even have been the game in which Liverpool clinched its 20th league title, but Arsenal’s convincing win against Ipswich earlier in the day meant that would not be the case.

This edition of Leicester away was far from the frenzy of the 4-0 win that formed a memorable part of the club’s Premier League win under Jürgen Klopp, but it was still memorable for Alexander-Arnold’s goal.

If the homegrown Scouser does end up leaving the club at the end of the season as expected, it was a fitting contribution to this title run-in, which has been part celebration, part anxiety around when or if the team would get over the line.

It’s surely now when, and when could be against Tottenham next weekend.

Between now and then, Liverpool fans will enjoy this Alexander-Arnold moment while he’s still at the club and maybe have some extra hope that it means he’ll stay for longer. They’ll certainly enjoy another feel-good away victory against Leicester on their way to title No. 20.