‘Childish’—Roy Keane Criticizes Real Madrid Star for Bayern Munich Performance

The CBS pundit has been an outspoken critic of Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Luis Diaz scores for Bayern Munich against Real Madrid. | David Ramos - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images

Trent Alexander-Arnold was the subject of fierce criticism from Roy Keane for his part in Real Madrid’s defeat against Bayern Munich on Tuesday night.

Los Blancos lost 2–1 to the German champions at the the Bernabéu in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, with Álvaro Arbeloa’s side unable to contain the visitors’ attacking threat.

Luis Díaz scored Bayern’s opener at the end of a pulsating first-half, while Harry Kane added a second seconds after the break. Madrid—who had 21 shots on the nights—created plenty of their own chances and earned a lifeline ahead of the second leg in Munich as Kylian Mbappé struck on 74 minutes.

While hope remains ahead of the second leg next Wednesday, Madrid’s defensive display will need to improve, with the hosts ultimately somewhat fortunate to have only conceded twice on the night.

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Keane: Same Old Story With Alexander-Arnold

Roy Keane is never afraid to speak out. | Nigel French/Sportsphoto/Allstar/Getty Images

Perhaps most disappointingly, the right back’s pass completion rate of 69.2% was the lowest of any player in the match.

Despite registering an impressive assist for Mbappé’s potentially tie-saving goal, 27-year-old Alexander-Arnold’s performance came in for criticism from former Manchester United captain Keane, who was working as an analyst for CBS.

A vocal and regular critic of Alexander-Arnold’s defensive shortcomings, Keane called out the right back for his part in Bayern’s opener where Diaz was able to slip in behind the defence to score.

Keane told CBS: “Listen, I’m fed up. It’s the same story in every big game. People are always talking about how good the passing is, but what about the basics? Defence.

“At this level, in the Champions League, you can’t just brush it off like that.”

“They’re childish mistakes. Allowing Luis Díaz to outplay you as if you weren’t there? That’s rubbish! It’s as if he’s never played at right back in his life.”

The Manchester United legend concluded: “Big games require strong defenders, and he is currently a long way from being one.”

Keane wasn’t the only one to highlight Alexander-Arnold’s display, with L’Equipe—a publication notoriously stringent with their player ratings—awarding the former Liverpool star a meagre four out of ten for his efforts.

This was, however, somewhat better than left-back Álvaro Carreras, whose torrid time against Michael Olise in particular saw him earn a two.

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Alexander-Arnold Fails to Assuage Doubts Under the Eyes of Thomas Tuchel

Trent Alexander-Arnold was watched by England head coach Thomas Tuchel | David Ramos - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images

England national team head coach Thomas Tuchel was among those in attendance at the Bernabéu for the showpiece match on Tuesday night to watch over the likes of Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Alexander-Arnold ahead of the summer’s World Cup.

While Kane and Bellingham are indispensable members of Tuchel’s setup, Alexander-Arnold has had a tougher time forcing himself into the national team plans and was left out of the 35-man roster for the recent internationals against Uruguay and Japan—the final friendlies before the World Cup.

Speaking on Alexander-Arnold’s omission last month, Tuchel said: “He's on the long list and everyone is still in the mix, but at the moment, some other guys are just ahead of him.”

On Tuesday, Tuchel oversaw a night of familiar contrasts for Alexander-Arnold, who laid on an exquisite second-half assist for Mbappé, and remained a threat from dead balls, but struggled to contain his former Liverpool teammate Díaz.

Last month, Tuchel promised to take in some Real Madrid matches to “get my last impressions” on Alexander-Arnold before selecting his final roster ahead of June.

It seems unlikely that Tuesday’s defeat will have done much to change the coach’s opinion.

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