Trent and Jones Re-United Last Night But Were Shit on By Foreign Media

Red Reunion Roasted Royally

Though the pedantic headlines might have rejoiced at the reunion of former Liverpool starlets Curtis Jones and Trent Alexander-Arnold last night, the scathing media in Spain and Italy weren't quite as impressed by either of them as Trent's Real Madrid toppled Jones' new club Inter in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

The duo were born less than five miles apart and both climbed the Anfield ladder to become first team members, with each of them being part of the Reds' side that won multiple trophies under Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot in the years that came after.

🚨 José Mourinho: "I thank Trent Alexander-Arnold for his efforts to play in a position that is NOT his.

It's very clear that his qualities are made for the full-back position, not for midfield." pic.twitter.com/GdkGX58Gzd

— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) September 8, 2026

However, Alexander-Arnold departed for Madrid in a controversial (to Liverpool fans, anway) free transfer in the summer of 2025, whilst Jones said goodbye to his boyhood side last month when he joined Inter for £30m.

On Tuesday evening, Alexander-Arnold, positioned in midfield, came up against Jones, but media from Spain and Italy were scathing in their opinons of both Englishmen's performances.

Jones and Trent Blasted By the Press

Jones endured a terrible start to the game, carelessly conceding possession in the build-up to Kylian Mbappe handing Los Blancos the lead against the run of play. Jones wasn't entirely at fault, truth be told, with German defender Yann Aurel Bisseck not exactly on his toes in his response to the threat on the edge of the penalty area.

The Football Italia website went on to brutally label the incident as a "brain fuck" while Spanish publication AS accused Jones of "falling asleep" as he gave away the ball.

Italy's La Stampa came with a slightly more sympathetic tone towards Jones, emphasising his proficiency in attack, noting:

"The Nerazzurri put in a strong first-half performance, coming close to scoring several times - through Jones and [Andy] Diouf - but were punished by two individual errors. A misunderstanding between Jones and Bisseck led to Mbappe's goal in the 14th minute."

Trent was absolutely dreadful.

Shocked he lasted 78 minutes, he was the worst player on the pitch.

How have people not worked out yet he can't play in midfield❓❓❓

And people wanted him back at LFC😂

He looks more ready for the MLS✅ pic.twitter.com/Mc0v0pqFKC

— John O Sullivan (@Corballyred) September 8, 2026

Meanwhile, the Spanish media showed little sympathy for Alexander-Arnold. Radio Marca said:

"The night was already off to a bad start because of that forced experiment, prompted by the yellow cards, of placing Trent Alexander-Arnold in a position where he contributed almost nothing. They thanked him and took a souvenir photo because he's unlikely to play as a midfielder again."

The Managing Madrid website stamped him with a measly 5/10 rating and stated:

"Being deployed in midfield wasn't his decision, and the role did him few favours. Nevertheless, he looked lost defensively and had little influence in possession."

van der Vaart: "I Find Him Slow"

Former Real Madrid star Rafael van der Vaart also took a dig at Alexander-Arnold, revealing he"does not enjoy watching" him. When looking into a particularly rough passage of play on Ziggo Sport, he claimed:

"He's standing in front of the defence, which isn't his position.

Curtis Jones taking 10 unnecessary touches on the ball, conceding the goal and getting mogged by Trent, of all people, in the process.

Poetry. pic.twitter.com/wufeRAFoMv

— AB (@abhinav757) September 8, 2026

"It looks like he's not fit or is suffering from something. Normally, these balls would be a piece of cake for him. I find him slow and making poor decisions on the ball.

"Just look at how he's shuffling along at the back here. It looks like he has a thumbtack in his shoe. He's limping a bit, every ball goes wrong.

"I think he's playing very poorly. I would substitute him. When they started cheering for a goal, it looked like he was tired. Alexander-Arnold really needed to catch his breath."