Real Madrid star makes Trent Alexander-Arnold training admission - 'He's horrible'

Thibaut Courtois has admitted Trent Alexander-Arnold is "horrible" to face in training after he notched his first assist for Real Madrid. Alexander-Arnold assisted Gonzalo Garcia's winner with an excellent cross as Real Madrid beat Juventus 1-0 in the Club World Cup on Tuesday.

And Courtois was not surprised to see the former Liverpool star delivering in a knockout match, with the goalkeeper praising his passing ability and revealing that he is a "nightmare" to go up against in training.

"I think he could have already had a few in these four games," Courtois told DAZN after the game. "His pre-assist against Pachuca was also really good. In training he's horrible, his kicking is amazing. His free-kicks, his corner kicks are really on another level.

"I don't think I saw some guy with his quality of kicking and crossing so as a goalkeeper sometimes it's a nightmare. But it keeps you on edge and keeps you working hard, trying to save them, to make him better and myself better."

Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso also hailed Alexander-Arnold, branding him an "amazing player" but admitting he "needs time" to settle in. "Trent? I believe in him. He still needs time, but he's an amazing player," Alonso said.

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"Crossing is his trademark; he's done 500 of those. On the right, we sometimes need an extra foot. One-on-one dribbling isn't his thing. He comes to Madrid to compete; he's barely trained. Everything takes time."

Alexander-Arnold has started every Club World Cup game so far, but is now set to face competition from Dani Carvajal after he returned to the bench against Juventus after recovering from a serious knee injury.

"Trent has adapted phenomenally well, he has got on with everyone fantastically," Carvajal said when asked about Alexander-Arnold ahead of the game. "He has been super friendly: when we have had an afternoon off, he has come with everyone to eat, he seems a very, very good lad.

"He already knew Jude [Bellingham] but it's with everyone. And, professionally, it's normal: at every team there are new signings, new players, and I took that as a personal challenge too: I love to compete, I love to have challenges in front of me.

"I hope that healthy competition can make the team even better. As for the position: I don't know. I haven't thought about it, because if the manager asks me to play on the left wing I play in the left wing.

"It's not something that concerns me, far from it. I just want to help. I've played centre-back, left-back, right-back … if it's in goal, I'm available. It's been nine months but I feel good, I'm ready."

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