Fans spot Dani Carvajal gesture on Real Madrid bench after Trent Alexander-Arnold moment

Dani Carvajal's gesture on the Real Madrid bench - shortly after team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold challenged for the ball - has gone viral on social media.

Real drew 1-1 at Real Betis on Saturday to effectively end their already slim hopes of winning the La Liga title.

Alvaro Arbeloa's side are 11 points behind leaders Barcelona with just five games to play, though do travel to Camp Nou for El Clasico next month.

They went 1-0 up against Betis through Vinicius Junior, but Kylian Mbappe went off with a suspected hamstring injury and Betis equalised in the fourth minute of second half stoppage time through former Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin.

Alexander-Arnold played the full 90 minutes at right-back, amid criticism over some of his recent defensive performances.

He has firmly established himself as first choice ahead of Carvajal, who was on the bench in Betis.

Newly-released footage from the match shows Alexander-Arnold chasing the ball high up the pitch, with Federico Valverde tracking back in an attempt to cover left winger Abde Ezzalzouli when Betis took it forward.

But the Betis man still had space to drive into, with Alexander-Arnold seen jogging back towards his position rather than attempting to support Valverde in his defensive duties.

The camera then shoots towards Carvajal, who can be seen making a walking motion with his fingers shortly after Alexander-Arnold lost the ball, while whispering to a team-mate with his finger covering his mouth.

It isn't clear as to exactly whether it was indeed towards Alexander-Arnold, or whether it was simply a coincidence, but fans have their own theory.

🚨🚨| Footage shows Trent walking back instead of tracking back, with Dani Carvajal reacting on the bench.

He mocks it by copying Trent’s slow walk with his fingers. 🫣

pic.twitter.com/JjgKLS2hRD

— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) April 27, 2026

One wrote: "I can't even figure out how this team go to this level. Such a disgrace."

A second said: "You analysed his game before signing him. Trent is not doing anything new."

A third added: "Would've been captain of his boyhood club in a year and he traded it all for this. The most pointless transfer in football history and he'll regret it for the rest of his life."

A fourth said: "Carvajal is just mad he's sat on the bench as usual."

While a fifth added: "Was he [Trent] supposed to teleport?"

And a sixth wrote: "Cut him some slack please... it never makes sense to start tracking back in full speed from that far distance. Football is a team game. Players closer to the other end can cover up."