Spanish press drop brutal Trent Alexander‑Arnold verdict as midfield experiment ends in Bernabeu boos

The new Jose Mourinho era at Real Madrid continued with a win on Tuesday evening, as Los Blancos edged past Inter Milan 2-1 in their Champions League opener.

Kylian Mbappe and Federico Valverde put the hosts two goals ahead inside 22 minutes, but Inter dominated large periods thereafter, and Carlos Augusto pulled one back before Thibaut Courtois produced a string of outstanding saves to preserve all three points.

Mourinho's decision to deploy Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield alongside Valverde drew particular attention, though, with the former Liverpool star substituted after 79 minutes to a chorus of boos from the Bernabeu.

The Spanish media were largely scathing about his display, although Mourinho offered a very different assessment.

Mundo Deportivo were particularly damning, claiming Alexander-Arnold looked 'lost', also describing him as an emergency midfield solution that 'went down spectacularly' - in other words, he failed in the middle of the pitch.

They felt the former Liverpool man looked lost defensively and failed to provide his usual quality in organising possession, while also highlighting that he left the pitch to boos from the Bernabeu.

AS were similarly critical, handing Alexander-Arnold just 4/10 and declaring 'El invento Trent no funciono' - that the Trent experiment did not work.

The Spanish outlet felt he was clearly out of position, struggled with defensive coverage and even failed to influence the match with the ball, which is normally his biggest strength. They concluded that playing in central midfield for Madrid demands much more and suggested the experiment is unlikely to be repeated.

El País also described the right-back as 'lost in midfield', also suggesting that alongside Valverde, the Englishman's limitations were exposed.

Meanwhile, El Español were similarly unimpressed, singling out Alexander-Arnold's failure to get across to stop Lautaro Martinez's cross before Carlos Augusto scored and noting that Mourinho subsequently removed him to whistles from the stands.

Mourinho, on the other hand, refused to criticise Alexander-Arnold's performance and insisted that the England international "played very well" to reporters after the game.

The 'Special One' felt Alexander-Arnold had interpreted the tactical demands correctly, dealt well with Inter's movements and worked hard alongside Valverde.

He acknowledged that the 27-year-old gave the ball away a few times, but explained that playing in central midfield requires a very different physical and positional profile to operating at right-back.

Mourinho also admitted that Alexander-Arnold is not naturally a central midfielder and therefore needs a different physical "motor" for the role, but felt he had given everything he had available.

The Madrid boss therefore had little sympathy for the criticism from the Spanish media, insisting that he had done his job despite being asked to operate in an unfamiliar position.

Real Madrid are next in action against Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga on Saturday, before facing Elche next Tuesday.

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