After their defeat to Bayern Munich on Tuesday, Real Madrid see their Champions League hopes hanging by a thread. They must win at the Allianz Arena next week to have any chance of progressing from their quarter-final tie, which will be much easier said than done against one of the best teams in Europe.
Goals either side of half time from Luis Diaz and Harry Kane put Bayern on the road to victory, but from a Real Madrid perspective, they were poor goals to lose. The first one was particularly bad, with a couple of errors in the lead-up to the Colombian winger beating Andriy Lunin just before the interval.
In particular, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s inability to stop Diaz has been called out by former Manchester United player Roy Keane. Speaking on CBS Sports Golazo (via MD), he took aim at the Real Madrid defender for “making the same mistake time and time again”.
“Listen, I’m fed up. It’s the same story in every important game. People don’t stop talking about how well he passes the ball, but what about the basics? Defending. At this level, in the Champions League, you can’t switch off like that. It’s a child’s mistake. Let Luis Díaz beat you as if you weren’t there? Please. Keep defending as if he had never played right-back in his life. Important games require great defenders and right now, he’s a long way from being one.”
Trent’s defensive frailties have been widely documented for a number of years, so Real Madrid were well aware of them prior to his arrival from Liverpool. It could be a risk for him to start in Bavaria next week, which could open the door for club captain Dani Carvajal to earn a rare appearance in the line-up.
However, the final call will be made by Alvaro Arbeloa, who has been reluctant to count upon Carvajal in recent weeks. It remains to be seen whether that continues next week.
