‘He will bounce back’ – Alexander-Arnold impresses on Real return

At the conclusion of a week that went wrong, Trent Alexander-Arnold impressed in Saturday’s comeback victory over Mallorca. He was back in the Real Madrid team.

The former Liverpool right-back was benched for the win over Real Oviedo last weekend, and he was then dropped from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad on Friday.

But he had some significant moments in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over the Bernabeu.

Alexander-Arnold did not play as an orthodox right-back, as he did hundreds of times for Liverpool. He started on the right side of a back four.

The 26-year-old frequently played quite central and attacking roles at the Bernabeu.

With a fantastic 50-yard strike from his own half, Kylian Mbappe found the net at 0-0.

The offside penalty for which Alexander-Arnold’s ball was used to pick his team-mate out nearly half a pitch away did not help the goal, which should not have been disallowed.

The goalkeeper denied the forward after he crossed once more for Mbappe.

His own effort from the edge of the box went just wide of the goalkeeper.

Alexander-Arnold helped his team advance after coming back from a goal down by one goal, but he was not involved in either of them.

Sergi Darder redirected the ball from the byeline, and Mateo Joseph appeared to have an open goal, but Alexander-Arnold did not succeed in getting the ball inside the six-yard box.

When Dani Carvajal took his place with 18 minutes left, he had 72 touches, more than anyone else on the field.

At the start of the season, Alexander-Arnold might start to feel a little outside of the team.

It might have been simple to forget who Madrid’s current right-back was when there were so many headlines surrounding his summer move from Liverpool.

It is Carvajal, who won the Ballon d’Or award in fourth place last season, and is six-time champion of La Liga and the six-time champion of the Champions League.

Carvajal, 33, had a serious knee injury that occurred in October and recovered more quickly than expected.

Alexander-Arnold was back in the starting lineup this weekend after starting against Oviedo.

Xabi Alonso, the boss of the Oviedo team, said: “It depends on what we need in terms of the game, the workload, and the opposition.”

If Alonso believes he needs a better defender in there, Carvajal will likely start games as a more traditional right-back.

Former Liverpool full-back Stephen Warnock, who spoke earlier on BBC Football Focus, said: “Trent has had these doubters before, he’ll bounce back.

“It won’t be a problem for him,” he said. He’ll use that as inspiration to improve himself and return as a better player.

Tuchel said he was “a big fan of Trent” but had other options, opting instead for Reece James and Tino Livramento, in a manner akin to Carvajal’s.

Alexander-Arnold’s debut game away from his hometown club is one that should not be forgotten.

In 319 (90%) of his 354 appearances for Liverpool, he made a right-winger appearance.

His previous eight appearances for Madrid included the June and July Fifa Club World Cup.

You can tell from the way he and Salah understood each other’s game, said Warnock.

“The midfielders have to fill that for him because they know when he enters midfield or drives down the right side there will be a gap at right-back,” they said.

The right center-back may come over and assist him more because he will be aware that his defense isn’t the best.

Real Madrid players are still getting to know him and comprehending that.

Guillem Balague, a journalist for Spanish football, said: “The Spanish media already has a narrative in place that Carvajal will surpass Trent because he’s too shy and he doesn’t fit in.”

He’s the kind of guy who enjoys challenges, so I hope he hears this. He has a sizable one.

Alexander-Arnold appears to have a less vocal role in the team than his England team-mate Jude Bellingham did when he first joined two years ago.

The Liverpudlian’s fans were impressed when he unveiled his new club at his unveiling.

Warnock continued, “I don’t get it. Why can’t you just live your life on your own? Speaking to the press is the only way to speak out. Why can’t you just respect that if you don’t and are a quiet, reserved person who wants your own time?

That doesn’t diminish what he’s doing on the field and why England hasn’t chosen him. That is not the Spanish press’s choice. That is not the choice of the Real supporters. The manager of England is that.

Balague continued, “Let’s see what the media says about today’s performance,” during the game on Saturday.