Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold exposed four-word motto in Liverpool dressing room ahead of Real Madrid game

The Liverpool defender speaks to ECHO ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League tie with Real Madrid

Trent Alexander-Arnold of Liverpool arrives at the stadium before the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Liverpool FC at the Vitality Stadium on 11th March 2023 (Image: Photo by Luke Walker/Getty Images)

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Trent Alexander-Arnold admits Liverpool will need to produce ‘something special’ against Real Madrid to secure a place in the Champions League last eight.

But the Reds defender believes a 5-2 deficit going into the game against the Santiago Bernabeu means the side have nothing to lose when they meet the 14-time European Cup winners and current holders this week.

Goals from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah had given Liverpool a comfortable 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes of the first leg at Anfield, but after a Vinicius Junior brace equalized before half-time, the Reds dried up after the half-time as Carlo Ancelotti’s side scored three more goals to give themselves a healthy lead ahead of Wednesday’s second leg.

Alexander-Arnold admits the situation looks dangerous, but the 24-year-old compared it to Barcelona’s semi-final four years ago when Jurgen Klopp’s side repelled a 3-0 first leg loss to guarantee that, in what is now considered a legendary return to the Champions League with a 4-0 win at Anfield.

“Honestly, we have to do something special in Spain,” Alexander-Arnold told ECHO. “But, you know, this is one of them, where it’s similar to the Barcelona game, where we kind of go there and have nothing to lose.
“It’s you who are three goals up and you know if we come out of it and don’t win so OK, we were three goals down, that’s how it is. So we don’t feel any pressure.”

A knockout round at the hands of the side that have beaten them in two Champions League finals since 2018 will be tough for Klopp, whose side now face an uphill battle after Saturday’s dismal defeat in the Champions League finals. next European qualifiers in Bournemouth later this season, but Alexander-Arnold says the whole team still believes they can achieve a remarkable result in Madrid.

He added: “We go there to win the game, to try and get through it. We’re not going to go there and think it’s already done and we’re out. We still believe it.”

“We know it will be very difficult, but we know we are capable of scoring goals in matches and we will have to play a near-perfect match to progress to the next round, but never say never.”

Also..

Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp have always been right about Erling Haaland as Pep Guardiola’s candid judgment proves it

Erling Haaland posted phenomenal numbers in his debut season but Liverpool will feel vindicated following the latest intriguing comments from Pep Guardiola.

It can almost seem grumpy to point out the flaws in Erling Haaland’s game. Since signing for Manchester City last summer, he’s made fun of the top league in the world and kept scoring for the fun of it. He’s averaging almost exactly one free goal per game and it’s still only his third best career campaign in that regard.

Haaland is clearly a goalscoring phenom. Sadly, the record set by Mohamed Salah at Liverpool in 2017/18 doesn’t seem to last very long. And yet, there are valid questions that have yet to be answered.

Before Haaland’s move, Liverpool fans wondered if he would really be the best fit for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City. Admittedly, this question was asked in the hope that it was Jurgen Klopp’s side that could benefit from an adjustment period at Etihad. While this scenario hasn’t materialized in a dramatic way, Arsenal are indeed gratefully enjoying some kind of decline from the reigning champions. It is not entirely clear whether this decline is due to or in spite of Haaland. But there remains the feeling that the Norwegian’s laser focus on goals sits somewhat unnaturally within the modern title-winning model.

Even when he had the genius of Lionel Messi at Barcelona, ​​Guardiola didn’t build an individual team. In fact, his approach at Camp Nou helped shape the now accepted model of greatness, using the Maestro at his disposal to lift the entire side and create a smooth, seamless unit.

In Manchester City too, Guardiola’s successes have always been based on the collective. Certainly since the departure of Sergio Aguero, the players of Manchester City are regularly absent from the debate on the Golden Boot. Even the Argentine changed his game to offer the team more, eventually earning an emotional farewell from his manager: ‘We can’t replace him’.

When asked if Haaland has improved that side of his game since joining Manchester City, Guardiola slammed him with faint praise: “A little, yes.”

Of course, no one would dare to claim that Núñez had the best season. That would really lead Liverpool fans into pure jealousy territory. Haaland has not only achieved better individual results, but his team is also doing much better. But when it comes to indicators of long-term success, the Uruguayan’s overall commitment, coupled with more than healthy goals for a debut season, suggests he may be a better fit.

Guardiola knows it. He is already trying to change his new striker. Borussia Dortmund probably knows this too, launching their most convincing attack on the title in recent years right after the departure of the Mercurial striker. And Liverpool know it, with strong evidence to challenge Núñez’s ‘flop’ speech.

While Haaland deserves all the praise he gets, he’s ultimately playing an individual game and it’s unclear whether Manchester City are really taking advantage of that.