Trent Alexander-Arnold speaks to Xabi Alonso before entering the field as a substitute during the Champions League match between Liverpool and Real Madrid at Anfield(Image: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)

Xabi Alonso has insisted Trent Alexander-Arnold was ready for the hostile reception he received on his first return to Anfield with Real Madrid after leaving Liverpool in the summer. Alexander-Arnold was jeered by the home crowd during the warm-up and when he was introduced for the final nine minutes of the Reds’ 1-0 Champions League win on Tuesday evening.

The England international, whose mural near the stadium was defaced earlier in the day, then had his every touch booed by a raucous home crowd before being similarly greeted when leaving after the final whistle.

And when asked why he chose to bring on Alexander-Arnold, Alonso said: “It was an intense game, and we know the atmosphere in Anfield on a Champions League night in a European 'Clasico'. We needed his quality and we needed his threat from the wing.