What Arne Slot said in Trent Alexander-Arnold's ear minutes after Liverpool boos

Arne Slot hailed Trent Alexander-Arnold as a "special human being" and embraced the former Liverpool defender shortly after his difficult reception at Anfield. The Dutchman also revealed the words of encouragement he said in Trent's ear after greeting him moments after Liverpool beat Real Madrid 1-0 in their Champions League clash.

Alexander-Arnold faced a chorus of boos when he entered the pitch as a late substitute, with home fans jeering his every touch. The Kop also jubilantly chanted Conor Bradley's name on a night where Alexis Mac Allister's second-half header secured a well-deserved win for Arne Slot's men. The evening proved nightmarish for Alexander-Arnold, who struggled throughout his 14-minute cameo, and that prompted Slot to console the 27-year-old Scouser when the final whistle sounded.

The Liverpool boss explained: "He (Alexander-Arnold) lost so that is tough. I said something like 'keep going' to him. I honestly didn't know exactly what I said to him. He has been special to this club, he has been special to me. And he is a special human being. So, for me to give him a hug is something I will do every single time I see him."

However, Slot was equally enthusiastic in his assessment of Conor Bradley, who has replaced Alexander-Arnold at right-back.

Slot added: "I told the players that Real Madrid had scored 26 goals in La Liga and between them, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior have had 24 goal contributions. So, I said, if you want any chance of winning, you have to defend well against those two ... and Conor Bradley did just that."

Liverpool drew level with Real Madrid in the Champions League table on nine points from four matches. The result brought satisfaction to the Reds' captain, Virgil van Dijk, who appeared to respond to recent criticism from Wayne Rooney - who was stood next to him - about his leadership qualities whilst praising his side's display.

The Liverpool captain said: "Ex-players that played at the highest level had difficult moments as well. In a world of chaos, you have to stay calm and see the perspective of things. We had to be spot on in everything we did. I think we performed our game plan perfectly."