‘A lot of people just expected us to get battered’ – Alexander-Arnold reacts to Real Madrid’s huge win over City | OneFootball

Trent Alexander-Arnold praised Real Madrid’s “mentality” after they beat Manchester City, saying that “a lot of people just expected us to get battered.”

Despite missing key players including Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo, Fede Valverde’s hat-trick made sure that the 15 time Champions League winners go into the second-leg with a healthy lead.

“There was a lot of noise when the draw happened and then leading up to this game, especially the way that we’ve been playing the last few games and the results we’ve had – a lot of people just expected us to get battered tonight but it just shows the mentality,” Alexander Arnold explained.

“It doesn’t matter what injuries you’ve got, what players out, this competition means a lot to the club.

“We’ve absolutely executed the game plan perfectly in the first half. People will say that they were favourites and going off results and the way that both teams have been playing, it could have been true, but when in the Champions League anyone can beat anyone. We know our game plan, we executed it, and scored our goals very, very ruthlessly.

“You need to perform, especially when you play for a club like this. The expectation is there’s no excuses. You have to win. So our mentality is to go all the way and win the game when the competition no matter who’s in front of us.

He added: “It’s only half-time. If you are celebrating at half-time and thinking the game is done, your mindset is completely wrong. The whole club knows this isn’t finished. We have seen crazy games between these two clubs before, so we can’t rule out anything. We don’t take anything for granted and will go to the Etihad and try to win there as well.”