Trent faces his recurring nightmare

With all eyes on him after his recent performances, one of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s worst nightmares is about to test the English fullback once again: Belgium’s Jérémy Doku.

Trent, whose display against Getafe was criticized for its lack of end product – two accurate crosses from seven attempts, just a 28% success rate – and above all for his attitude on Borja Iglesias’s goal last Friday, now has to deal with a player who has already embarrassed him more than once. In that play, he was beaten too easily by Williot, who won both the space and the ball before the move ended in Celta’s only goal.

Now comes an even more difficult assignment, against a winger who has repeatedly exposed him in the past – even if there is a twist, because Trent still came out on the winning side.

Doku: Trent’s nightmare returns

His opponent will be Doku, the same rival who caused him more headaches than anyone last season. The Belgian winger, who was named MVP of the clash between Real Madrid and Manchester City last December, previously tormented Federico Valverde, filling in at right back because Alexander-Arnold and Dani Carvajal were unavailable. Earlier meetings between his previous club Liverpool and City in the Premier League showed just how disruptive Doku could be against the English defender.

The first of those games came on November 25, 2023 and ended in a 1–1 draw. Alexander-Arnold scored Liverpool’s goal with a right-footed strike after a pass from Mohamed Salah. Yet on that day Doku repeatedly attacked down his flank. The Belgian completed 12 of his 18 attempted dribbles, seven of them directly against the Madrid defender, a 66.66% success rate.

Even so, Alexander-Arnold’s record in those Premier League meetings stands at two wins and a draw.

It was even more striking in 2025. Liverpool defeated Manchester City 2–0, but Doku delivered another dazzling display. At the Etihad Stadium, the Belgian completed 15 of his 21 dribble attempts, a 71.42% success rate. Of those, 12 came against Alexander-Arnold and 11 were successful. Doku seemed determined to get revenge for the previous year, even beating the Englishman three times in the opening five minutes. Gradually, however, Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai helped their teammate contain the winger.

There has only been one occasion when Doku failed to get the better of Alexander-Arnold. Despite the numbers favoring him, the Belgian himself acknowledged where things fell short: his crosses rarely found a teammate in the box. “I beat Trent many times, but it was that final pass,” he admitted. “The most important thing after a pass is to create something from it.” Even so, his performance was strong enough to prompt an article about it in New York Times.

Last Saturday against Newcastle, Doku again showed what he can do. A run to the byline set up Savinho for the equalizer. Now the Belgian winger will try once more to exploit the same matchup when he faces Alexander-Arnold again, this time at the Bernabéu.

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