Alexander-Arnold urges team-mates to show right mentality and retain EPL title

Trent Alexander-Arnold has warned his Liverpool team-mates has warned his Liverpool team-mates they must show the right mentality if they are to retain their Premier League crown.

The champions host newly-promoted Leeds United in their first game of the new season on Saturday and are eyeing back-to-back league titles after winning their first in 30 years in 2019/20.

Only three sides have won back-to-back Premier League titles, the most recent being Manchester City in the preceding two seasons, and the others being Manchester United and Chelsea.

And Reds right-back Alexander-Arnold believes their Premier League rivals will have extra motivation when they face Jurgen Klopp's men this season, which will make it even more difficult to retain their crown.

'For us it is not about maybe topping the points that we got or score more goals,' Alexander-Arnold told Sky Sports.

'It is about if we can all develop as a team and keep winning and keep that mentality, that is the main thing that helped us get this far and we know what it takes to win now.

'We know there is a big target on our backs now being the champions and teams are going to be extra motivated when they play us, so we need to match that mentality and take it to the next step and understand that winning it back-to-back is harder than winning it once.'

The England right-back was also asked how the Anfield club can buck the trend of the notoriously difficult target of retaining the Premier League.

While the 21-year-old reiterated his point about matching other teams' motivation - which he claims Liverpool have had when facing title rivals Man City during the last two seasons - he also added Klopp's side will try and still believe they are not the favourites to win games.

'I think trying to adapt to it as quick as possible, because the biggest thing is that the motivation that other teams get when you are going into games,' he continued.

'They have that extra 10 per cent in mentality that 'this is the team to beat this season, they are the champions, we want to beat them'.

'It is massive for the fans because that is the mentality we had when we came up against City in the last two seasons that they are the team to beat, so we have that extra motivation going into games and we know that is going to happen to us so it is about our mentality.

'We know over the last two to three years that we have got the quality to win games, we have won games in different ways so it is about maintaining that mentality of still trying to believe that we are the underdogs and that works best for us.'