Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
TRENT: EUR GONNA SEE REAL REDS
France
BY DAVID MADDOCK
KOP full-back Trent Alexander-arnold believes the Champions League offers a perfect chance for Liverpool to put right their disastrous run of results.
And the England star is confident a “change of mentality” in Europe’s premier competition can bring a change of fortune for the champions.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have won just three of their last 13 matches and go into the last- 16 showdown with RB Leipzig knowing it’s now their only chance of honours this season.
But Alexander-arnold insisted there is nothing too badly wrong with the Reds that can’t be fixed in tomorrow’s European tie.
“It’s a different competition, which always freshens it up, and a different mentality,” he said. “In situations like this you want the opportunity to put it right as soon as possible. And it’s going to be a different task for us, a Champions League night.
“It’s exciting to have the prospect of a knockout game again. You wait so long for the knockout rounds of the Champions League - it fills you with that excitement. We need to recover and go again.”
13 THIS was no massacre on St Valentine’s Day but James Lowe admitted to “heartbreak” after Ireland again failed to take their chances.
As in Cardiff last week, it was a case of what could have been for the men in green, who made unwanted history by becoming the first Ireland side to lose the opening two games in a Six Nations championship.
It was a typically brave performance from the hosts – all the more so from a team stripped of so much experience and leadership.
Andy Farrell’s half-backs had only three starts between them, all to Jamison Gibsonpark, while his back-up No.10 Billy Burns was gone just after half-time with a head injury, Ross Byrne replacing him.
Yet there was still relief in the French ranks that Byrne did not get a shot at emulating Sexton’s famous ‘Le Drop’ moment from three years earlier in Paris.
With the game in overtime, Ireland went through 20 phases as they chased a famous win – only for Hugo Keenan to get turned over.
Bruce Dulin found touch for a Les Bleus victory, the first in Dublin in a decade.
“People were worried, people were talking but those boys (the half-backs) played out of their skin,” argued Lowe. “They put us in the right areas, managed everything very, very smoothly throughout the week and we were so close again.
“I don’t think having Johnny Sexton or Conor Murray or
It’s not a Valentine’s Day massacre but sorry Ireland make unwanted history
Peter O’mahony would have made too much of a difference.”
Despite forwards coach Paul O’connell turning the lineout into a weapon again, once more Ireland were left to rue their lack of a killer instinct.
“We’d so many chances to twist the screw and unfortunately we didn’t take those opportunities,” he lamented. “We fed the French beast a few times. So close, it hurts, but those are the fine margins.”
Ireland frustrated France early on and eventually lock Bernard
Le Roux boiled over, tripping Keith Earls and earning himself a 24th minute yellow card.
Already the home side were 3-0 up when Robbie Henshaw and Burns combined to release Keenan on the left.
The full-back passed too early and Lowe was tackled by Dulin and then by Gael Fickou with the winger’s foot brushing the touchline just before he touched down for a try that wasn’t awarded.
France got their attacking game going moments later. Fickou sucked in Gibson-park for Charles Ollivon to score, despite having the man in the bin.
By half-time France led 10-3 and after the restart made it 15-3 when Lowe fell off a tackle on Dulin and Damien Penaud squeezed in for the second try.
Ronan Kelleher popped up with an opportunist’s try in the 59th minute – his first for Ireland – and Byrne nailed the conversion. It wasn’t enough.
Ireland haven’t had much luck but they do have the good fortune of facing Italy next. “It will be a real show of character to bounce back,” added Lowe.