Real Madrid barely escaped with three points against Elche as they bottled a two-goal lead before scoring in the dying stages of the game. A game which was largely decided in the first half, and could have been easily put to bed by adding another goal or two from the million chances they created in that half, Real Madrid were really disappointing to watch in the second period.
They barely kept possession of the ball, and the way they moved without it showed a clear lack of urgency and too much complacency from a team that was only up by two goals. People say a two-goal lead is the most dangerous one in football, and that was on full display on Tuesday night.
However, there were a few brilliant positives, and one of them was the performance of Trent Alexander-Arnold. Unlike some journalists’ claims, Trent was absolutely not a liability for the team defensively. Could he have done better? You can say that about every single player on the pitch, but the Englishman was far from a liability. There were multiple key defensive stops in Real Madrid’s half, and even in Elche’s half, the player won the ball to create chances.
It unlocked a certain dynamism about this Real Madrid team, and they finally looked like they had a world-class right-back.
Trent Alexander-Arnold did more in 82 minutes vs Elche than Denzel Dumfries has all season
Denzel Dumfries is a phenomenal player on his day, but even then, Trent is the better full-back and player. His style of play is simply more important to Real Madrid than Dumfries’, and in just 82 minutes, it was proven why.
His long-range passing, mixed with the dynamism that he brings with him in every game, made him such a brilliant asset for Real Madrid.
There were instances where Trent dribbled past two or three players with just a few body feints, before laying a beautiful pass to one of his teammates. He did not register a goal or an assist, but with everything else, the English defender did really well.
Obviously, there were things he could have improved on defensively, but he was solid, and in some games, that is what you can ask for from such an offense-heavy full-back.
Real Madrid have it slightly easy to get out of bad pressing situations when Trent is playing for them. His dribbling and passing make it so hard for opponents to track runners, because with one pass, he can pick anyone out.
With Dumfries, it just has not looked that great. He has played the majority of the games at right-back, but he has not looked all that convincing. Meanwhile, in the two starts that Trent has got in the league this season, he has performed better than his counterpart.
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