Manchester City players Erling Haaland and Ruben Dias have questioned comments from Trent Alexander-Arnold that trophies “mean more” to Liverpool’s players and supporters.
City have won five of the last six Premier League titles and last season added the FA Cup and the club’s first ever Champions League title to secure a famous treble.
Liverpool — the only side to interrupt City’s league title domination in that timeframe — won the League Cup last month and are currently top of the Premier League standings, one point above Pep Guardiola’s side.
The two clubs go head-to-head at Anfield in Sunday’s Premier League action in what could be a key match in the title race, but comments from Liverpool full-back Alexander-Arnold have only served to heat up the encounter.
“You’re up against a machine that’s built to win — that’s the simplest way to describe City and their organisation,” Alexander-Arnold said in an interview with FourFourTwo magazine.
“Looking back on this era, although they’ve won more titles than us and have probably been more successful, our trophies will mean more to us and our fanbase because of the situations at both clubs, financially.
“How both clubs have built their teams and the manner in which we’ve done it probably means more to our fans.”
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Those comments have inevitably been rejected by Alexander-Arnold’s counterparts in City’s first-team squad.
“I’ve been here one year and won the treble and it was quite a nice feeling, I do not think he knows exactly this feeling,” striker Haaland told Sky Sports when asked on Alexander-Arnold’s comments. “So yeah, that is what I felt last season and it was quite nice.
“They can talk as much as they want, or he can talk as much as he wants, I do not know why he does that, but I do not mind.”
Haaland’s comments were echoed by his City teammate Ruben Dias, who told BBC Radio Manchester on the Liverpool right-back’s comments: “We’ve won a lot in this club, especially last year with the Treble. I think it’s pretty certain between us, between our fans, how much it meant to all of us.
“At the end of the day you can only have certain emotions if you actually win stuff. A treble is a feeling you can only know how it feels when you actually do it.”
Liverpool host City in Sunday’s Premier League action with a 3.45pm (GMT) kick-off at Anfield.
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(Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
