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In many ways, Xabi Alonso’s choice of words on Tuesday applied to Trent Alexander-Arnold too.
‘The moment of truth has arrived. Tomorrow, the rock and roll begins,’ Alonso charismatically insisted, when he was asked about Real Madrid’s identity.
Less than a week after the official formalities in Spain, the moment of truth arrived for Alexander-Arnold too as he made his debut in all white.
The reality is that there was little rock and roll from him against an Al-Hilal side that Madrid were expected to dispatch. They were held to a draw by the Saudi Arabian side after Federico Valverde’s 90th minute penalty was saved by Bono.
In mitigation, Simone Inzaghi’s side were much more comfortable in the Miami heat but this was a Madrid performance that left more questions than answers for Alonso.
For Alexander-Arnold, who lacked the confidence that we had got so used to seeing in a Liverpool shirt, it was an early reminder too that it isn’t as simple as just putting on another shirt and doing what he has done before.
Trent Alexander-Arnold made his Real Madrid debut against Al-Hilal at the Club World Cup
But the former Liverpool star struggled and did not look his normal self on Wednesday night
Alexander-Arnold attracted attention upon his arrival at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami
From the moment he stepped on the pitch for his walk-on, he looked somewhat in awe of the whole situation and eager not to put a foot wrong.
As Jude Bellingham went through his expressive pre-match rituals, Alexander-Arnold stood there watching someone five years younger than him and waiting for the action to start.
When it did, that shyness initially translated to his play as he rarely ventured forward in the manner he loves. Perhaps it was because he didn’t want to get caught out defensively and it was clear after the break that he and Madrid were told to be more assertive by Alonso.
The 20 minutes after the break were much more encouraging, before he was replaced in the 65th minute in conditions that were far from ideal for football.
‘It’s a very proud moment for me. It’s a moment that most, if not all players, dream of at some point in their life,’ Alexander-Arnold said after. ‘But it was very challenging to play in that heat and very different from England,’ he admitted.
When Madrid arrived at the Hard Rock Stadium in temperatures exceeding 30 degrees and in serious humidity of 65 per cent, the three biggest cheers were reserved for Alexander-Arnold, Alonso and the veteran Luka Modric.
If anything, it was an indication of the global status that Alexander-Arnold already possesses.
Given the weather, the Madrid players were exempt from wearing their usual formal attire and each of them walked in with short-sleeve buttoned-up baseball style shirts. Slick, to say the least and of course Madrid led with the picture of Alexander-Arnold on their social channels.
Alexander-Arnold was better in the second half but he was substituted in the 65th minute
Al-Hilal regularly targeted the defender when they attacked down Real’s right hand side
For context, they have over triple the following (176M) of Liverpool (47M) on Instagram.
On the pitch, there was never really any doubt about whether Trent would make his debut here, with Dani Carvajal injured and Madrid having paid Liverpool a fee of £8.4M just so the 26-year-old could play in this competition.
Alonso emphasised pre-match that the Madrid side at the end of the tournament would be much better than the team against Al Hilal.
Within that was an early message too for Alexander-Arnold, who by all accounts has impressed in training at their Palm Beach base further up the East Coast. So much so that the Spanish sport newspaper Diario AS outlined: ‘It’s clear, a Galactico has been signed.’
The same outlet wrote though that he ‘carries a stat which casts a long shadow’, describing it as his ‘Achilles heel’. Since his debut in 2016, he’s the most dribbled-past defender in the Premier League.
‘He has the qualities to have a great impact with the ball, but as well he is a defender, and he needs to defend,’ Alonso insisted.
Al-Hilal made the stronger start and looked unbothered by the brutal heat. They had eight shots in the first half-hour and left-back Renan Lodi had a goal disallowed for offside after a move down the right flank which saw Alexander-Arnold lose track of his man.
Whenever they had the ball, Madrid’s right-hand side was targeted, with the pairing of Rodrygo and Alexander-Arnold hardly looking the strongest out of possession.
The cooling break came at the perfect time for Alonso’s side though, with Alexander-Arnold playing a part in a Madrid counter that saw Rodrygo tee up Gonzalo Garcia for the opener.
But Al-Hilal hit back almost instantly through a Ruben Neves penalty.
Madrid came out of the blocks after the break as Alexander-Arnold got higher up the pitch and looked a lot more comfortable before he was taken off for Lucas Vasquez with 25 minutes to go.
He didn’t have a bad game though it certainly wasn’t a dream debut like Bellingham’s.
‘It’s the first time I’ve moved clubs. I didn’t know what to expect and it’s a big change but I’m loving every single minute of it,’ Trent told Mail Sport after. ‘In my mind and in my heart, I know that I made the right decision for me.’ Only time will truly tell though if it is the right call.
