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Prior to the Champions League draw last week, there was one team, and specifically one player, that many Liverpool fans wanted to see travel to Anfield in the league phase.
'Bring Madrid here, let’s give Trent the Anfield treatment,' one fan wrote on X.
By moving to Spain, Alexander-Arnold must have seen a reunion with his boyhood club, where he spent 20 years, won eight major trophies, and made over 350 senior appearances, as unlikely.
However, as Kaka and Zlatan Ibrahimovic began to draw balls from pot one in Monaco last week, it felt like there was an air of inevitability that Alexander-Arnold and Liverpool would meet again, in a competition where they both have such glorious memories.
Then it happened. Zlatan Ibrahimovic pulled Real Madrid's name out of the hat, Kaka pressed the big button, and the supercomputer handed Los Blancos a trip to Anfield. Alexander-Arnold will return to the stadium where he featured 175 times in red on 4 November.
Steve McManaman knows what it means to make the switch from Liverpool to Real Madrid while being a local lad, and he believes that Alexander-Arnold's homecoming will test the former Reds vice-captain.
Trent Alexander-Arnold will return to Liverpool in the Champions League in November
Steve McManaman, who played for both Real Madrid and Liverpool, believes the homecoming will be 'hard' for Alexander-Arnold
The full-back spent 20 years at Liverpool, winning the Premier League in his final season
'Trent going back [to Anfield]; it was always going to happen,' McManaman tells Daily Mail Sport, speaking on behalf of bet365. 'I just don’t think people thought it would happen so soon.
'It’s going to be emotional for him, hard for him, because in the end, the crowd will give him a good reception. But they will also want Liverpool to win.
‘I think the most important thing for Liverpool is that the game is at home, the night at Anfield. They seem to have played Real Madrid many times over recent years, so that won’t be any different.'
Alexander-Arnold's start to life in Spain has been turbulent. The right-back was dropped to the bench by manager Xabi Alonso after his LaLiga debut; however, he returned to the line-up for Los Blancos' clash with Mallorca, and starred in a comeback win.
The 26-year-old showed his array of passing at the Bernabeu, setting up Kylian Mbappe to score with a wonderful cross-field ball, one that we witnessed in the Premier League many times. Unfortunately for him, the goal was disallowed.
His display earned deserved praise from both fans and the Spanish media. It was a real 180-degree turn from the intense criticism he was subjected to for his display against Osasuna on the opening weekend.
And McManaman believes that many from his own country have been too quick to judge the defender as he adapts to life at the 15-time European champions.
‘I think a lot of people in England made more out of it than there probably should have been,' continues the former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder.
'If you watched Real Madrid’s first game against Osasuna and then their second game against Oviedo, I know [Dani] Carvajal came in, but Xabi made a lot more changes than Carvajal and Trent. Vinicius didn’t play; a load of others didn’t play.'
Steve McManaman was speaking on behalf of bet365, the official Global Partner of the UEFA Champions League. This season, bet365 will be once again running the Big Ticket Giveaway game giving fans the chance to win tickets to every single UEFA Champions League match starting with the Round 1 ballot which is opens on 31st August. Registration Required. T&Cs Apply, 18+. GambleAware.org
