Trent Alexander-Arnold Savaged for Poor Real Madrid Outing—And Blame Falls on Jurgen Klopp

The fullback’s debut campaign in a white shirt has left plenty to be desired.

Trent Alexander-Arnold was heavily criticized after Los Blancos’ recent victory. | Maciej Rogowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

Trent Alexander-Arnold was nothing short of a disaster in Real Madrid’s 2–1 win over Celta Vigo on Friday evening, and the England international and his former boss Jürgen Klopp are under fire.

The ex-Liverpool star was Los Blancos’ blockbuster signing of the summer, brought to the Bernabéu to give the Spanish giants a superstar successor to the aging, injury-prone Dani Carvajal. Yet his debut season has been marred by extended spells in the infirmary and lackluster performances.

There’s no denying what Alexander-Arnold can do on the ball, nor how much his presence going forward stretches the pitch and creates gaps for Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappé to exploit. The criticism lies in his defending, which is nothing new for the fullback ... just ask Liverpool supporters.

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Alexander-Arnold Condemed for Celta Vigo Blunder by Spanish Media

Trent Alexander-Arnold (center) was caught out yet again. | Denis Doyle/Getty Images

With so many of their starters unavailable for the trip to Vigo, including Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo, Dean Huijsen and Álvaro Carreras, Real Madrid needed big performances out of their big names on Friday evening—a challenge Alexander-Arnold failed to meet.

The 27-year-old completely fell asleep in the 25th minute near the halfway line, allowing Celta Vigo winger Williot Swedberg to get in behind him and streak toward the goal. Alexander-Arnold suddenly sprang into action and kept up with him down the right flank, but made no intervention or attempt to disrupt the Swede.

The forward then brushed off his marker inside the box and easily fed the ball to teammate Borja Iglesias, who calmly slotted home the equalizer for Celta Vigo. All the while, Alexander-Arnold just stood and watched, almost like he conceded defeat the second Swedberg got on the ball 30 seconds prior.

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Trent Alexander-Arnold – Stats Snapshot vs. Celta Vigo

• Minutes Played: 90
• Goals: 0
• Assists: 0
• Chances Created: 3
• Accurate Crosses: 1/13
• Accurate Long Balls: 4/8
• Tackles: 1
• Recoveries: 5

*Stats courtesy of FotMob

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Real Madrid went on to win the game thanks to a last-gasp winner from Federico Valverde, saving Alexander-Arnold from shouldering the shame of costing his team three points. But Spanish media did not let him get off the hook so easily.

Journalist Albert Ortega tore into the right back, writing: “Trent Alexander-Arnold’s problem isn’t that he can’t defend. It’s that he doesn’t care about defending. He only understands football from the perspective of having the ball. Without it, he has absolutely no defensive strategy. They get behind him all the time. A disaster.”

MARCA wrote: “Anyone who regularly watched Liverpool knows that Trent isn’t exactly a defensive hound; his strength lies in pushing forward and distributing the ball with his exquisite passing. But defending? Forget it, as was proven once again with Celta’s first goal. The only question is whether he doesn’t know how or simply doesn’t want to.”

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Jürgen Klopp Does Not Come Out Unscathed

Trent Alexander-Arnold (left) and Jürgen Klopp found plenty of success together at Liverpool. | Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC/Getty Images

As criticism rained down on Alexander-Arnold, his former Liverpool boss Klopp got thrown into the line of fire. MARCA continued: “Don’t be shocked by Alexander-Arnold. He’s always been like this. Klopp said it himself right after leaving Liverpool: ‘I just failed to teach him how to defend.’”

No one knows the fullback’s shortcomings better than Klopp, but the German boss led Liverpool to glory in England and Europe all with Alexander-Arnold on the right flank. Klopp is accused of allowing the Englishman to deliver lackluster performances inside his own half in exchange for the attacking prowess he brought, ultimately championing a fullback with glaring defensive weaknesses.

The problem for Real Madrid is that they do not have the same level of defensive stability that the Reds had in their glory days under Klopp. Los Blancos’ constantly injury-hampered backline lacks the quality to cover for such egregious mistakes, ones that are the difference between victory and defeat.

The team also is not exactly set up to benefit from Alexander-Arnold’s pinpoint long balls or crosses; after all, there is not a true No. 9 in Álvaro Arbeloa’s current squad, and most of the club’s attackers do not even make runs into the box.

MARCA ended their savage analysis with the following sentiment: “So if you’re a Real Madrid fan, don’t get angry with the English fullback if you don’t like his defensive performances. If anything, be angry with whoever signed him.”

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