Trent Alexander-Arnold’s chances of coming up against Liverpool in this season’s Champions League have grown after Real Madrid edged Benfica 1-0 on Tuesday night.
Los Blancos took control of the two-legged tie thanks to a second-half strike from Vinicius Jr, who scored the only goal of the game in the 50th minute at the Estadio da Luz.
However, the match was overshadowed by an alleged incident of racist abuse directed at the Brazilian. The knockout clash was briefly halted when the 25-year-old left the pitch following a tense exchange with Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni. After the final whistle, the Argentine insisted Vinicius had “misunderstood what he thought he heard.”
Referee Francois Letexier stopped play and signalled racist abuse, with the game resuming around 10 minutes later. Madrid held on to protect their narrow lead until full-time.
Speaking after the match, Trent Alexander-Arnold reacted to the alleged abuse:
“Obviously, it is upsetting. We as people, we come here to do a job,” the former Liverpool full-back told Amazon Prime (via BBC Sport).
“We enjoy what we do and when something like that happens it takes the fun out of the game and ruins the night for all of us.
“We dug deep and got the win. Most of all, we are proud of the way we handled it in a hostile environment.
“The way the environment reacted to it didn’t affect us. We dug deep.”
While “upsetting” is accurate, it arguably doesn’t go far enough. It is disgraceful that racist incidents — which Vinicius has repeatedly faced in Spanish football and even in the Champions League — continue to occur so frequently.
It was also disappointing to see Jose Mourinho, a major voice in the sport, appear to excuse the situation by implying Vinicius’ celebration had provoked the reaction.
Empire of the Kop condemns racist abuse in the strongest possible terms. There is no excuse for it under any circumstances.
Attention now turns to the second leg at the Bernabeu, where Real Madrid will go in as clear favourites. If they progress, it could set up a potential meeting with Liverpool later in the competition — assuming both sides make it through the last 16.
If that happens, it would be Trent Alexander-Arnold’s first match against his former club since joining Real Madrid on a free transfer in the summer.
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