Tactical battle set for Madrid says Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold

Macdara Ferris reports from the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid

To go with his dozen clean sheets defensively, Trent Alexander-Arnold brought his A (attacking) game to his Liverpool performances this season.

He wracked up a Premier League record breaking dozen assists – all from his foraging full back role. 

The Liverpool is one of the many young stars that will be playing in Saturday’s Champions League Final in Madrid in what will be an intriguing encounter. 

“They’ve got world-class players and we’ve got world-class players,” was Alexander-Arnold’s assessment of both the Spurs and Liverpool squads on the eve of the final in the Estadio Metropolitano. 

“Tomorrow it’s literally a fight till the end to see who wins and who wants it more. Both sides have their game plans and I think it’s fair to say that it’ll be a really tactical game from both sides. 

“They’ve beaten many good teams along the way in their run and shown they're good side - that’s why they’re here.

"So I think it’s about respecting Tottenham as a full team and going out there tomorrow with that respect, and obviously using our tactics against them and knowing how we can hurt them going the other way.?

“We have respect for the opposition, but we play with a certain style and we try not to change that for any team. I think that we have to be respectful of Tottenham’s attackers but, likewise, if we sit back and let them get on top of us ?that’s when they’re at their best. 

“I think that it’s best for us to be high up the pitch and in their half is where we’re at our best, so I think that will work for us tomorrow and I’m sure that whatever happens we’ll try and play our way as we have done all season and not change it.”



The 20-year-old player started in last year’s Champions League final loss to Real Madrid and is looking to use the disappointment of that defeat to spur himself on against Tottenham

“I think we’ve used things throughout the season that we learned in Kiev from [Real] Madrid: the way they won the game, the way they went about things and how they beat us.

"I think we’ve matured as a team; we’ve shown how we can win games, how we can hold on to 1-0 leads, we can keep clean sheets a lot better.?

“I think throughout the course of the season; we’ve proven why we’re such a good side. And yes, it’s because of the experiences we’ve had so far and I’m sure we’ll use them as motivation again tomorrow.

"I think personally, I don’t want to feel how I felt last season in Kiev again tomorrow. That’ll be running through my mind during the game and maybe I’ll put that extra one or two percent in.”?

    About Macdara Ferris

    Macdara Ferris is a contributor since 2007 to Hoops Scene (Shamrock Rovers' match day programme) and is the co-author of two books on Shamrock Rovers - 'Tallaght Time: Shamrock Rovers 2009 to 2012' (with Karl … View Full Profile