Thierry Henry has defended Trent Alexander-Arnold for how he dealt with Vinicius Junior’s goal as Liverpool were beaten 1-0 by Real Madrid in the Champions League final in Paris.
The legendary striker told CBS Sports on Paramount+ (28/05/22 at 11:20 pm) that it was a ‘tough’ passage of action for the Liverpool right-back to deal with and he was ‘thinking about Benzema’, as Federico Valverde provided the killer cross.
Before the game, there was a lot of talk about how Alexander-Arnold was going to deal with Vinicius, and in truth, he did pretty well for large parts of the game.
But, that one moment, where he allowed the Real Madrid winger to ghost behind him in acres of space, proved to be costly in Paris – Sergio Ramos was delighted with his former side adding a 14th European crown to their name.
Alexander-Arnold came under a lot of stick for his defending, but Henry made it clear that the cross from Valverde wasn’t easy to deal with.
“It’s an awkward position that he takes to defend that cross,” said Henry.
“But the overlap makes it difficult for him from Carvajal and Valverde switches that ball across the box, it’s very difficult for Trent Alexander-Arnold to defend that.
“I don’t think he even looks at the beginning where is Vinicius. He knows Benzema isn’t in front of him. He sees Benzema stopping, so he is stopping with his line. But there is a man behind you – For me, it’s a very tough one for Trent Alexander-Arnold to defend on that one.
“Remember, Liverpool lost the ball. He shuffled across a bit more thinking about Benzema a bit too much and he never thought about his winger.”
VINICIUS’S GOAL WILL HAUNT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD
This one won’t be easy to digest for Alexander-Arnold, who will still feel the heartache of his mistake today and for many more weeks to come.
But that’s what happens when you perform at the elite level and Madrid are a team of seriously high standing.
The La Liga champions, managed by the most decorated European-winning coach of all time in Carlo Ancelotti, have beaten some serious teams to win the trophy.
The Premier League champions, the Europan Cup holders and now Liverpool in the final, it’s much deserved for the Spanish side.
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