VIRGIL VAN DIJK gave a blunt answer when asked about the return of Trent Alexander-Arnold following Liverpool’s Champions League victory on Tuesday.
The Reds dominated Xabi Alonso‘s Real Madrid at Anfield, with the visitors lucky that only Alexis Mac Allister‘s headed effort managed to beat stopper Thibaut Courtois.
But beyond the result itself, there were bubbling tensions about the return of one familiar face to the stadium.
Alexander-Arnold left Liverpool on a free transfer at the end of last season, but has struggled to find regular minutes under fellow ex-Red Alonso.
He was not handed a start on his return by the manager and had to wait until midway through the second half to get on – igniting a chorus of boos around the ground.
And his reception was not much warmer from former team-mate and captain Van Dijk it seems.
The Dutchman was brutally blunt when asked about his feelings towards the right-back’s return by Prime Video pundit Theo Walcott.
He questioned: “Have you had a chance to speak to Trent?
“Lots of talk about the conditions he was playing in tonight, do you have any plans to see him after the game?”
The centre-back replied as curtly as he reasonably could have, simply saying: “No.”
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His response clearly went down well with Liverpool fans, many of whom felt betrayed by Alexander-Arnold’s surprising exit from the club.
One fan said: “This whole interview is cinema”
Another gushed: “I love my skipper.”
To make things better for the home crowd, the England international’s replacement Conor Bradley played a blinder, with fans roaring at his every defensive action against the electric Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr.
A penalty controversy could not stop the home side from powering to a shock win, having entered the game with just two wins in their last eight.
