Bad news: Liverpool's "nervous wreck" is fast becoming like Alexander-Arnold
Liverpool had defeated Real Madrid 1-0. It wasn’t spectacular. It was gritty and to their credit, Arne Slot’s side were by far the best team on the field.
Not bad for a team supposedly in a mini-crisis. Coming into this game, the Reds had won just two of their last eight games in all competitions.
So, are they back? Quite possibly. One man who was indeed back at Anfield was Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The Merseysider, Liverpool’s great son, was welcomed home to his city of birth to a chorus of boos. His exit still stings, of course it does, and the fanbase will have achieved a sense of great comfort from seeing him suffer defeat on Tuesday evening.
Being interviewed on Prime Video post-game, skipper Virgil van Dijk was asked by Theo Walcott if he had spoken to Trent or had any desire to meet with him. The colossal Dutchman had an emphatic one-word response: “No.” Each to their own, eh, Virgil?
Trent's Anfield return in numbers
It wasn’t a great surprise to see Alexander-Arnold named among the subs for Tuesday’s encounter.
Trent is a fine right-back but hasn’t set the world alight after moving to Madrid over the summer. The defender was initially set to move on a free transfer but as Real aimed to push a move through before the Club World Cup, Liverpool ended up getting £10m for him.
Money well spent? Arguably not. The 27-year-old has battled with a hamstring injury in the embryonic stages of his Madrid career, playing just 14 minutes in this season’s Champions League and starting only twice in LaLiga.
It’s not the start Trent will have wanted and the last thing he probably needed was a return to Liverpool.
Fede Valverde started ahead of him at right-back on the night but with nine minutes remaining the Reds academy graduate finally got his chance to play at Anfield again.
While some did applaud, for the most part, he was met with a series of boos. Who can blame them?
As Xabi Alonso’s men tried desperately to score an equaliser, their efforts were ultimately in vain as Trent failed to inspire the European giants to a point.
After coming on, Alexander-Arnold managed just ten touches of the ball and was only able to complete six of his eight passes. His only cross was inaccurate and he didn’t manage a key pass.
Minutes played
9
Touches
10
Accurate passes
6/8 (75%)
Key passes
0
Accurate crosses
0/1
Dribbles
0
Possession lost
3x
Shots
0
Tackles
0
Interceptions
0
Clearances
1
He had limited minutes, of course, but it was far from the heroic involvement we were used to seeing from the England international during his days in red.
As it happens, he was completely outshone by fellow right-back Conor Bradley. In the words of content creator, George Scaife, the Northern Irishman’s display was “the best performance by a Liverpool player this season” having locked down one of the best wingers in the world in the form of Vinicius Junior.
Yet, it’s not Bradley who is more closely evoking memories of Trent this term.
Liverpool's summer signing is suffering from the Alexander-Arnold treatment
In the bigger picture, Alexander-Arnold’s time in England must be celebrated. He is one of the most iconic right-backs the Premier League has ever seen.
He scored 23 goals and racked up a rather mind-boggling tally of 92 assists from defence. There have been very few like him in the modern era.
Trent was very much one of the pioneers of the modern full-back. Creative, attacking and possessing the ability to invert into midfield, he offered a great deal to both Jurgen Klopp and Slot. Except, he was always a little bit suspect defensively.
While Bradley dealt with Kylian Mbappe and Vini Jr with ease on Tuesday, on the contrary, Liverpool’s great Liverpudlian has struggled in games like these before.
Remember the quarter-final in 2021? It was Trent’s mistake that led to Marco Asensio scoring. The final in 2022? On that occasion, the full-back allowed Vini to ghost behind him and find the net.
While some of his defending was pretty inexcusable during his time at Liverpool, the threat he carried in the final third and from set-pieces always rescued him. He was a special player.
Yet, 2024/25 was a tough one as he geared up for his move to Madrid. Trent did feature in 49 matches across all competitions but he only completed 13 full 90 minutes in his 33 league outings.
Slot regularly withdrew him early from games and once it got towards the end of his time in England, he didn’t get much of a look in.
During Liverpool’s last six fixtures in the Premier League, he featured for a combined 220 minutes of the 540 that were played.
While the defender had suffered from a late-season ankle injury, his defending also hadn’t improved. After Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United back in January, Roy Keane was brutal with his criticism: “There’s talk about him going to Real Madrid, the way he’s defending he’s going to Tranmere Rovers after this. He’s got to do better.”
Well, in 2025/26, it would appear as though summer arrival Milos Kerkez is also suffering from a bout of Trent-itis.
Last season he was hailed as “one of the best left-backs in world football” by Troy Deeney and few would have disputed that claim.
The Hungarian was a rampaging threat on the left-hand side of the Bournemouth side, ending the campaign with two goals and six assists.
Like Trent, he’s got a wicked delivery in him. He’s a great creator of chances. Yet, also like Trent, he’s suspect defensively and has been found out since his big £40m move in the summer.
Not one to mince his words, Gary Neville was particularly scathing of the full-back in October, saying: “The left back hasn’t settled in. He plays like a 10-year-old; he is all over the place.” Harsh but you’d certainly expect better of a player who cost as much as he did.
As such, Kerkez has been in and out of the team much like Trent was last season. Like Alexander-Arnold, Slot cannot trust him, particularly in the big games. Indeed, against Man United, Jamie Redknapp described the defender as a “nervous wreck”, constantly hassled by Bryan Mbeumo.
Consequently, the former Cherries full-back has completed 90 minutes on just five of his nine league starts and now finds himself out of the team. Andy Robertson has started the last two games and Liverpool have won both. That is surely no coincidence.
Kerkez will no doubt come good in a Reds shirt. He was electric for Andoni Iraola’s side last campaign but he is going to have to eradicate his haphazard defending if he is to make it at Anfield.
If he doesn’t, then he can expect further Trent-like treatment in the months to come. An unreliable figure who’s excellent in attack but suspect at the back.