Real Madrid right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold - copyright TEAMtalk
Real Madrid right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold
Former Liverpool duo Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konate have been praised by the Real Madrid media for their performance against Villarreal at the Bernabeu in LaLiga on Saturday evening.
Both Alexander-Arnold and Konate started for Madrid against the Yellow Submarine.
Konate, who left Liverpool at the end of last season and joined Los Blancos on a free transfer in the summer of 2026, lined up alongside Antonio Rudiger in central defence.
Alexander-Arnold, who moved to Real Madrid from Liverpool in the summer of 2025, started at right-back.
While Konate played for the entire 90 minutes, Madrid manager Jose Mourinho brought on Vinicius Junior for Alexander-Arnold after 52 minutes.
Los Blancos won the match 1-0, thanks to Yan Diomande’s goal in the 62nd minute.
Vinicius Junior was sent off after 72 minutes for pulling the hair of Nathan Saliba.
During his time on the pitch at the Bernabeu on Saturday evening, Konate, who won the Premier League, the FA Cup and the EFL Cup (twice) with Liverpool, took one shot, which was not on target, won one header, and made two tackles and four clearances.
Alexander-Arnold, who came through the Liverpool youth academy to establish himself as a major star in the first team, played two key passes, took 39 touches of the ball, made one clearance, and put in five crosses, of which one was accurate.
Real Madrid-leaning Marca and AS were impressed with Konate and Alexander-Arnold’s performances against Villarreal.
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Praise for former Liverpool duo Alexander-Arnold and Konate
AS noted about Alexander-Arnold: ‘The Englishman’s turn in the right-back rotation.
‘A recital of passes and a great long ball to Mbappe in the 21st minute, which the Frenchman couldn’t finish.
‘Substituted by Vinicius in the 52nd minute.’
The Spanish publication observed about Konate: ‘A solid performance from the Frenchman, who also demonstrated his aerial prowess in attack with a header from deep.
‘He received a yellow card in the 81st minute.’
Marca gave Alexander-Arnold 6.5 out of 10 for his performance in the first half.
The Spanish publication wrote: ‘First half: What a pass he played to Kylian Mbappe, behind the Villarreal center-backs.
‘He didn’t hesitate for a second.
‘He was solid in defence.’
For the second half, Marca noted that Alexander-Arnold ‘came off for Vinicius in the 52nd minute’ and wrote: ‘Final grade: 6.5’.
Marca also gave Konate 6.5 for the first half and 6.5 for his overall performance.
For the first half, Marca noted: ‘Solid defensively.
‘He got a shot off at the near post from a corner, but it went wide.’
For the second half, the Spanish news outlet observed: ‘He received a yellow card for an action that the referee considered a foul on Gerard Moreno.’
TeamTalk