Trent Alexander-Arnold was named in Liverpool's starting lineup for Saturday's Merseyside derby against Everton, just over 24 hours after narrowly escaping a life-threatening accident. The 25-year-old England international was involved in a collision when a 40ft electricity pylon, uprooted by Storm Babet, fell onto a rural road near Knutsford, Cheshire.
Alexander-Arnold swerved to avoid the half-ton pylon and crashed into a BMW X5 that had also avoided the pylon. Both drivers escaped unhurt. Cheshire Police confirmed the incident at 10:34am on Friday, stating that an electricity pole had fallen into the road, causing the accident. The energy company was called to turn off the power, and the scene was cleared by 1:05pm.
A source told The Sun: “The wind was so powerful it suddenly ripped up the pylon. It was really terrifying. It’s a miracle nobody was hurt. Someone could have easily been killed. Alexander-Arnold must feel like he’s cheated death. A few seconds later and it could have gone through his windscreen.”
In the derby, Alexander-Arnold was joined by Ryan Gravenberch, who made his first Premier League start. The midfield trio consisted entirely of summer signings, with Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai also starting. Left-back Kostas Tsimikas made his first league start of the season, deputising for the injured Andy Robertson, while Ibrahima Konate replaced Joel Matip and Diogo Jota returned from suspension.
