The pattern was set with Manchester City’s first attack. No matter where on the pitch they had the ball, Pep Guardiola’s side had a clear plan: get the ball towards the left flank and their virtuoso winger, Jeremy Doku.

He was aided and abetted by the roaming Bernardo Silva, who constantly overlapped and underlapped City’s Belgium winger. To say Trent Alexander-Arnold had his hands full for Liverpool would be a vast understatement.

Doku completed 11 dribbles, the most by a player in any Premier League game for more than two years (since Adama Traore for Wolves against Brentford), and the most on record by any player against Liverpool.

Last month, former Reds star James Milner was hooked at half-time for Brighton after being tormented by Doku. Perhaps the veteran gave his old mate Alexander-Arnold some advice on how to deal with Doku, because Liverpool’s vice-captain stood tall.

It would be a stretch to say he got the better of Doku and Silva — they skipped past him and the covering Joel Matip a few times — but Alexander-Arnold defended admirably in a pleasing display, then scored the all-important equaliser in the second half.

Trent Alexander-Arnold defended admirably and scored the all-important equaliser

The Liverpool right back had his hands full with with Man City winger Jeremy Doku

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said: ‘Everyone this season as a defender one-versus-one will have a tough afternoon against Doku. He’s a very good dribbler. I don’t think (Alexander-Arnold) had a tough afternoon but it’s how you defend them together and try to get two-versus-one situations.

‘Trent is defensively very good and obviously in possession he has qualities that are very special. He has the complete package.’

On previous negativity around Alexander-Arnold’s defending, Van Dijk added: ‘That’s the outside world and something we can’t control. He was playing against one of the most in-form wingers. So to be important with the goal and also his interceptions is very important.’

Liverpool vice-captain Alexander-Arnold certainly looks to have learned some lessons from his former colleague Milner in terms of leadership. Now 25, he has stepped up massively in that sense this season and plays a central role in guiding Liverpool’s next crop of young stars. The local lad is a vocal member of the dressing room.

That was crucial during half-time at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, with Jurgen Klopp irked by his team’s lack of control in midfield areas.

He made a tactical switch that saw Alexander-Arnold given more creative licence and that ultimately led to the equaliser.

The goal made him the star of the show for Liverpool on the day it was announced he had agreed a £26million boot deal with adidas, joining Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham in signing up to be a face of the sportswear giant on a multi-year contract.

Alexander-Arnold is enjoying an impressive spell in the team despite receiving stick last year

Liverpool’s vice-captain wore a pair of old-school, unreleased adidas Predator boots here after his contract with Under Armour ended.

The deal is another sign of his growing profile and those boots clearly suited him as he had the most dribbles and tackles by any Liverpool player, underlining his all-round impact on the game.

He was second only to Van Dijk for passes and touches by Liverpool players. There has never been any doubting Alexander-Arnold’s attacking qualities but many — outside Liverpool — raise questions over his defending. This display showed he is maturing as a part-time midfielder, part-time defender, full-time leader.

For City, after Erling Haaland opened the scoring to become the fastest player ever to 50 Premier League goals, it felt like two points dropped. ‘We have to demand more from ourselves,’ Silva said. ‘These kind of games — we need to win. We expected Liverpool to come again after a tough season. We knew their energy was going to be back so it’s going to be tough — not just with them but Arsenal, Spurs.

‘We are going to try our best to get a little bit of distance. Last season wasn’t nice to be so far behind Arsenal (at one point). We enjoy it more when we win but it’s nice for the Premier League and the fans when it’s this tight and there is emotion.’

Manager Jurgen Klopp was full of praise for his defender and claimed he had an influence throughout the game

Silva neglected to mention Aston Villa in that list. City go there in just over a week, after Tottenham make the trip north on Sunday. The run is punishing from now until the new year. The Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia is on the horizon, too.

Pep Guardiola has injury issues, with Kevin De Bruyne one of several midfielders out. City’s bench was only at eight here — two were goalkeepers — with 20-year-old Oscar Bobb the only attacking option. John Stones was back in the squad but requires intense strength and conditioning work to reach peak fitness.

‘We don’t train (properly),’ Guardiola said. ‘On Friday, we did 10-15 minutes with the ball and 10 minutes defensively. Before Tuesday (a Champions League dead rubber against Red Bull Leipzig) it will be 10 minutes on the pitch. We cannot train.

‘If we train, we don’t have players for the next game.’