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Topics: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid, Liverpool, FIFA Club World Cup
John McDougall
Topics: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid, Liverpool, FIFA Club World Cup
Trent Alexander-Arnold had his say on Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso's decision to play him in a brand new position in the victory over RB Salzburg.
The England international joined the Spanish side earlier this summer after leaving boyhood club Liverpool on the back of the Anfield outfit winning the Premier League title in Arne Slot's first season in charge.
Alexander-Arnold scored 23 goals in 354 games for Liverpool with his trophy haul including two Premier League crowns, the Champions League, the FA Cup, the League Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
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The 26-year-old's Anfield contract was due to expire at the end of this month and he would have then joined Real on a free transfer afterwards.
However, Los Blancos opted to pay Liverpool a transfer fee of up to €10m in order to release Alexander-Arnold early from his Liverpool deal and permit him to play for his new side at the revamped and expanded FIFA Club World Cup, which is currently taking place in the United States.
Real have advanced to the knockout stages of the competition after finishing top of Group H, which also contained Al-Hilal, Pachuca and RB Salzburg.
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Alonso's side recently beat RB Salzburg 3-0 thanks to goals from Vinicius Jr, Federico Valverde and Gonzalo Garcia and Real will face Juventus in their last 16 tie.
Alonso - a former Real player who succeeded Carlo Ancelotti in the Santiago Bernabeu dugout this summer after moving from Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen - deployed a five-man defence for the first time in his reign.
It meant Alexander-Arnold played in the right wing-back slot in the new formation, which is a departure from the 4-3-3 system Ancelotti favoured and was a difference for the ex-Liverpool man, who often operated as a right-back in a flat back four at Anfield.
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And Alexander-Arnold believes that though the formation was not perfect and still requires work to be done, he felt it was a success given his side won 3-0 and in his view was his best showing so far for Real Madrid since his switch.
In an interview with The Athletic, he said: "Everyone’s got to get used to it. It worked, clearly, so that’s a good start but obviously we have a lot of work to do. It wasn’t a perfect game, but good signs.
"It was our best game so far as a team. It was the best game I’ve had. It seemed to click out there.
"We had a game plan. It was our aim to top the group. We are unbeaten and three goals and a clean sheet is a good confidence boost going into the round of 16."
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And on Alonso's management, Alexander-Arnold said: "Obviously the way he can adapt to different teams [is impressive]. We changed the system in a short space of time [for today] and the way he gets his messages across means it’s very clear and we can understand perfectly what we need to do as individuals and as a team.
"When he joins in in training, you can see he’s still got high, high quality, which is amazing. I grew up watching him, and he’s not lost any quality at all.
"He could still lace them up and get out there with us if he wanted to, he’s still that good."