Trent Alexander-Arnold has begun life in a Real Madrid shirt weeks after his controversial Liverpool exit.
After running his contract out, Alexander-Arnold sparked further reaction from Reds supporters after addressing the media in fluent Spanish, something which led to questions over how premeditated his move to Madrid was.
Despite all the negativity, however, there was palpable excitement at the Spanish capital for his debut under Xabi Alonso against Al-Hilal at the Club World Cup on Wednesday.
Trent was brought in as the latest Galactico signing by the club and is expected to be the long-term answer at right-back for Real Madrid, with club legend Dani Carvajal still sidelined with injury.
However, a poor debut showing in the 1-1 draw left Madrid fans with more questions than answers, and had Liverpool fans celebrating a successful “hatewatch”.
Liverpool fans label Trent Alexander-Arnold’s debut a “disaster class”
As Real Madrid failed to win against Al-Hilal in their Club World Cup opener, almost all fingers were pointed at Alexander-Arnold, who was repeatedly targeted by the Saudi Arabian club in attack.
Salem Al-Dawsari, Saudi Arabia’s hero against Argentina in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, in particular, had a field day at left wing and tormented the former Liverpool star with his movement and pace.
Alexander-Arnold looked off the pace of the game and failed to impact the game offensively too, delivering only one successful cross all game.
The new signing was eventually substituted off by Xabi Alonso. This was all the ammunition Liverpool fans needed to jump on X (formerly Twitter) to mock their former star on a night he would love to forget.
One fan said: “LaLiga is going to eat Trent alive and I can’t wait to see it.”
“Debut disasterclass,” posted another fan.
“6 shots conceded in 12 minutes against Al Hilal…life with Trent,” remarked another Liverpool fan.
Liverpool announced Jeremie Frimpong as Alexander-Arnold’s replacement
While it appears Liverpool fans haven’t moved on from their disappointment and anger at losing their star right back, the club moved early in the transfer window to announce their replacement.
Arne Slot’s team moved quickly to activate the release clause in Jeremie Frimpong’s contract with Bayer Leverkusen and brought the Dutch international in as soon as the transfer window opened.
Frimpong, like Alexander-Arnold, is an attack-minded full-back who has previously seen criticism for his defensive failings.
Liverpool could have gone in another direction, but an almost like-for-like replacement is what the Premier League champions have settled on for now.
With Conor Bradley also impressing over the course of the 2024-25 season, Liverpool could impressively be set to replace a major personnel loss without losing a beat in the process.