Trent Alexander-Arnold looked like he had stagefright in shaky Real Madrid debut, writes AADAM PATEL - the England man didn't seem his normal self in disappointing Al-Hilal draw

Daily Mail​

4 hours ago

In many ways, Xabi Alonso 's choice of words to the press on Tuesday evening applied to Trent Alexander-Arnold too.
'The moment of truth has arrived. Tomorrow, the rock and roll begins,' Alonso charismatically insisted, when he was asked about Real Madrid's identity under him.
Less than a week after the official formalities in Spain, the moment of truth arrived for Alexander-Arnold too as he made his debut in the all-white of Los Blancos.
The reality is that there was little rock and roll from him against an Al-Hilal side that Madrid were expected to dispatch, but they were held to a draw by the Saudi Arabian side after Federico Valverde's 90th minute was saved by Bono.
In mitigation, Simone Inzaghi's side were much more comfortable in the Miami heat but this was a Madrid performance that left more questions than answers for Alonso.
For Alexander-Arnold, who lacked the confidence that we had got so used to seeing in a Liverpool shirt, it was an early reminder too that it isn't as simple as just putting on another shirt and doing what he has done before.
From the moment he stepped on the pitch for his walk-on, he looked somewhat in awe of the whole situation and eager not to put a foot wrong.
As Jude Bellingham went through his expressive pre-match rituals, Alexander-Arnold stood there watching someone five years younger than him and desperately waiting for the action to get started.
When it did, that shyness translated to his play in the first-half as he rarely ventured forward in the manner he loves. Perhaps it was because he didn't want to get caught out defensively and it was clear after the break that he was told to be more expressive by Alonso. The 20 minutes after the break were far more encouraging, before he was replaced in the 65th minute in conditions that were far from ideal for football.
When Madrid arrived at the Hard Rock Stadium in temperatures exceeding 30 degrees and in serious humidity of 65 per cent, the three biggest cheers were reserved for Alexander-Arnold, Alonso and the veteran Luka Modric.
If anything, it was an indication of the global status that Alexander-Arnold already possesses.
Given the weather, the Madrid players were exempt from wearing their usual formal attire and each of them walked in with short-sleeve buttoned-up baseball style shirts.
Slick, to say the least and of course Madrid led with the picture of Alexander-Arnold on their global social channels.
For context, they have over triple the following (176million) of Liverpool (47million) on Instagram.
On the pitch, there was never really any doubt about whether Trent would make his debut here, with Dani Carvajal injured and Madrid having paid Liverpool a fee of £8.4M just so the 26-year-old could play in this competition.
Alonso emphasised pre-match that the Madrid team at the end of the tournament would be much better than the team against Al Hilal.
Within that was an early message too for Alexander-Arnold, who by all accounts has impressed in training at their Palm Beach base further up the East Coast. So much so that the Spanish sport newspaper Diario AS outlined: 'It's clear, a Galactico has been signed.'
That much is evident but spending time with the Madrid press over the last few days has also outlined how much they are concerned about his defensive abilities.
They know well enough, having watched Madrid take on Liverpool on seven occasions since Alexander-Arnold made his debut.
The same outlet wrote that he 'carries a stat which casts a long shadow', describing it as his 'Achilles heel'. Since his debut in 2016, he's the most dribbled-past defender in the Premier League.
'He has the qualities to have a great impact with the ball, but as well he is a defender, and he needs to defend,' Alonso insisted.
On paper, this was the most successful European side against the most successful Asian side but inside a far from full stadium - not helped by the weekday 3pm kick-off - it was Al-Hilal who made the stronger start and looked unbothered by the brutal heat.
They had eight shots in the first half-hour and had left-back Renan Lodi's goal disallowed for offside after a move down the right flank which saw Alexander-Arnold lose track of his man.
Whenever they had the ball, Madrid's right-hand side was targeted, with the pairing of Rodrygo and Alexander-Arnold hardly looking the strongest out of possession.
The water break came at the perfect time for Alonso's side though, with Alexander-Arnold playing a part in a brutal Madrid counter-attack that saw Rodrygo tee up Gonzalo Garcia for the opener. But Al-Hilal hit back almost instantly through a Ruben Neves penalty.
Madrid came out of the blocks after the break, with Alexander-Arnold operating in a much more advanced role and getting in a position to deliver more crosses before he was taken off for Lucas Vasquez with 25 minutes to go.
He didn't have a bad game though it certainly wasn't a dream debut like Bellingham's in 2023, when the Englishman scored a goal in a Madrid win. But remember, Rome wasn't built in a day.