Archive August 30, 2025

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.

US Open 2025

Dates: August 24 through September 7 in Flushing Meadows, New York

Jannik Sinner, the defending champion, said he is “not a machine,” after being forced to use a set in a test match against Denis Shapovalov to advance to the US Open fourth round.

Italian champion Shapovalov, a four-time Grand Slam champion, defeated by 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

The world’s number one player, Sinner, struggled with his serve and used a number of unusually loose groundstrokes throughout the first three sets, despite only losing 11 games in his previous two games.

He had only 58% of his first-serve percentage in the match, which included 5 double faults and 36 unforced errors.

However, he won 12 of the next 15 games to seal the victory after saving a break point to prevent going into double-breakdown in the third set.

I am not a machine, I am aware. Sinner, who will face either Alexander Bublik or Tommy Paul as the 14th seed or the 23rd seed, will face him next.

“I didn’t struggle today, in my opinion. He and I both had excellent tennis matches. Every game is challenging. Today’s scoreline was a little sluggish for me, but I just made an effort to stay there mentally.

In the first set, Shapovalov jumped out of the blocks, breaking Sinner’s serve in the fourth game, and resulting in a 5-2 lead on his own serve.

Sinner responded by serving for the set and turning in his match’s first break point before giving Shapovalov a one-set lead with an untimely double fault.

In the seventh game, the 24-year-old Italian took control of the second set, pouncing on his first break point, before confidently holding on to level the match.

With Shapovalov breaking Sinner’s serve in the second game and maintaining a 30-40 lead in the fourth set, momentum rekindled in the third set.

However, he was unable to secure the double break, so he buried a shot into the net, which turned out to be the game’s turning point.

Sinner won the next two sets, rising to a 3-0 lead in the fourth set thanks to five double faults from Shapovalov, and then playing the final eight games.

Andrey Rublev defeated Coleman Wong in a five-set thriller to win the historic US Open, 2-6 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-3.

Wong, age 21, made it through three rounds of qualifying to become the first Hong Kong man to compete in the Open Grand Slam main draw.

He then defeated Australian Adam Walton and American Aleksandar Kovacevic to move one win away from New York’s second week.

The world number 173 defeated Rublev to win the first set, twice beating the 15th seed in four straight games.

Wong wrestled his way back into the match at the start of the fourth set, turning the match’s opening set break point into a decider, winning the second and third sets to a decider.

Rublev scored the decisive break in the sixth game there before clinching the victory with his first match point.

Rublev, who will next face third-seede Alexander Zverev or Felix Auger-Aliassime, said, “He played aggressively and without fear – it was tough.”

He was all over me, and I had to fight every ball to turn things around because “I didn’t start well.” In the final game, he was fighting until the very end. I’m happy that I won and advance to the next round.

Leandro Riedi, the 45th-ranked Swiss qualifier, became the lowest-ranked player to reach the fourth round of a major since 2002 when Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak retired from the first set with a broken leg.

Lorenzo Musetti, the tenth seed, and Flavio Cobolli, the other Italian, made similar progress.

Cobolli, the 24th seed, fell during the match and received treatment three times from the trainer before retiring in the third set, falling to 6-3, 6-2, 6-0.

Alexander Isak was not visible. Evidently. However, Newcastle United’s well-known absentee did not avoid Elland Road’s wrath.

During Saturday’s goalless draw against Leeds United, supporters chanted, “We don’t care about Isak.” He says, “All we care about is NUFC, not me”

What a contrast to Nick Woltemade’s reception, which was record signing.

Fans gathered outside the stadium to watch the new arrival and were mobbed as he made his way into the stadium before the game, indicating that Liverpool will need to use the striker, particularly if Isak becomes available, before the window closes on Monday evening.

After all, Newcastle only managed a few shots on target at Elland Road, and they have only managed two goals in their first three Premier League games, securing two points out of a possible nine.

How Newcastle could have used Woltemade on Saturday, but the forward’s £69m move from Stuttgart was delayed, so he watched from the directors’ box.

Woltemade will naturally require a “period of adjustment,” but Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe has backed his abilities to “translate” to the Premier League.

He stated on BBC Radio 5 Live, “I like his different dimensions to his game. He has “absolutely good technical skills and really good creative ideas around the box,” he says. “Of course, he has a big presence, he’s a big man.

What can Newcastle expect, then?

Woltemade once said he “likes to be an entertainer.” The German’s birthday being celebrated by club legend Kevin Keegan is fitting, then.

Woltemade is not just a battering ram, despite having the appearance of a target man who is 6’6in tall. In fact, quite the opposite.

Due to his dribbling prowess, Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer gave this towering striker the nickname Woltemessi.

Few people are as adept at demonstrating that skill set as Antonio di Salvo, who helped Germany defeat Germany in the Under-21 World Cup final last month with six goals scored by Woltemade.

Despite his size, Nick is technically competent, both as a striker and a number 10, he claimed.

He has worked hard to increase his presence on the pitch and in the penalty area over the past two years, and most importantly, he has significantly improved his finishing.

He poses a constant threat to your goals because of his extreme versatility and versatility. His inventiveness makes him incredibly unpredictable for opponents throughout the game, resulting in unanticipated moments throughout the course of play.

However, both talent and determination have been at the heart of this story.

For instance, Woltemade was exempt from Stuttgart’s Champions League squad last year because of rules governing players who were club-trained, but the striker privately declared that his “time would come.”

Woltemade’s inclusion in Newcastle’s upcoming game against Barcelona at St James’ Park next month is a significant improvement for a player who was on loan at German third division side SV Elversberg two and a half years ago.

After coaching Woltemade with Werder Bremen’s under-19s, Marco Grote was “convinced for years that he can be a special player.”

Woltemade did, however, become a household name in his native country last season.

Woltemade scored 17 goals in 33 games, including the German Cup final, as the center-forward won the first major trophy of his career, working closely with Stuttgart manager Sebastian Hoeness on the training pitch and in the video analysis room.

Woltemade then ignited the under-21 competition last month, winning the trophy for Germany in the final, only to lose to England with a score of 3-2.

Before Newcastle scored a club-record $65 million plus $4 million in add-ons this week, Bayern Munich felt motivated enough to make several unsuccessful bids.

After seeing targets Hugo Ekitike, Benjamin Sesko, and Joao Pedro relocate elsewhere this summer, Newcastle had to act given the situation with Isak and the limited amount of time left.

Ironically, Isak’s arrival three years ago has some similarities.

Isak joined Newcastle in the final days of the transfer window without much time to settle, making him also Newcastle’s most expensive signing of all time.

The Swede, however, had long been regarded as one of the continent’s top prospects and, crucially, had international playing experience.

Woltemade, on the other hand, has never played outside of Germany, so his potential debut against Wolves next month will have only been benefited from a few training sessions with his new team-mates.

However, he has potential to continue to prosper in the right hands.

Grote said, “He understands the game.” He “handles the team and the coaches.” He has ambitions, wants to improve, and wants to learn more. He enjoys playing. He has a talent, but he put in a lot of effort to advance.

Woltemade’s departure from his country for the first time is undoubtedly a significant step in more ways than one.

Woltemade’s former employers describe him as a “family man,” and his parents took him on a tour of St James’ Park on Friday and watched his new team’s action at Elland Road the following day. He even made a nod to his mother’s birthdate, which is 27.

The checks Newcastle conducted on Woltemade made those family values clear, and Howe valued his new signing’s character more than his ability to find the back of the net.

After all, Howe is wary of dissipating from a tight-knit dressing room, but Woltemade fits right in, according to Di Salvo.

The manager of the Germany Under-21s said, “Nick was very popular in our team because of his very good, reflected, humorous, and down-to-earth character. He frequently struck me as a magnet, a person who could unite opposing viewpoints.

He was “the glue that kept the team together,” he said in a statement. “He did it naturally.” I have always valued him as a significant contact when working with coaches.