Trent Alexander-Arnold admitted Real Madrid used being the underdogs against Manchester City as motivation, declaring after their 3-0 win: “weren’t we supposed to get battered?”
Federico Valverde’s brilliant first-half hat-trick secured Real a stunning victory over City, who have a mountain to climb to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
Real Madrid, who were missing the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo, were distinct second-favourites heading into the game but they produced a clinical opening 45 minutes as Valverde stole the show at the Bernabeu.
Alexander-Arnold had one of his best nights since joining from Liverpool, shutting down Jeremy Doku and the City attack who really struggled to open up Real’s defensive unit.
Alexander-Arnold told TNT Sports: “There was a lot of noise when the draw happened and then leading up to this game, especially the way that we’ve been playing the last few games and the results we’ve had – a lot of people just expected us to get battered tonight but it just shows the mentality.
“It doesn’t matter what injuries you’ve got, what players out, this competition means a lot to the club.
“And as players, we understand that.
“We’ve absolutely executed the game plan perfectly in the first half. People will say that their favourites and going off results and the way that both teams have been playing, it could have been true, but when in the Champions League anyone can beat anyone. We know our game plan, we executed it, and scored our goals very, very ruthlessly.
“You need to perform, especially when you play for a club like this. The expectation is there’s no excuses. You have to win. So our mentality is to go all the way and win the game when the competition no matter who’s in front of us.
He added: “It’s only half-time. If you are celebrating at half-time and thinking the game is done, your mindset is completely wrong. The whole club knows this isn’t finished. We have seen crazy games between these two clubs before, so we can’t rule out anything. We don’t take anything for granted and will go to the Etihad and try to win there as well.”
Valverde is the most underrated footballer on the planet, says Trent
Federico Valverde’s brilliant first-half hat-trick secured Real a stunning 3-0 victory
The first half was the Valverde show and he capped a phenomenal performance with arguably his best goal of the night to make it 3-0.
He showed an outstanding touch to bring the ball down inside the penalty area and flick it past Marc Guehi. Donnarumma rushed out to make a block but Valverde flashed a shot past him for a first career hat-trick and to put the hosts in dreamland.
Alexander-Arnold said: “I’m running out of words for him as a player now. Even as a Liverpool player, I’ve admired him, and I think he is undoubtedly the most underrated footballer on the planet.
“I think when you play with him, you understand how much he gives to a team. He covers every blade of grass, he gives us all his.
“I think as a player, the best attribute you can have is that your teammates can always count on you. And he’s always there. He never lets us down.
“I think maybe people might start talking about it now, but I think for many years he’s been in that top bracket of midfielders.”
