Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk revealed he has no intention of seeing Trent Alexander-Arnold following the Reds’ 1–0 victory over Real Madrid on Tuesday evening.
Although Alexander-Arnold was not fit enough to start the game, the England international still dominated headlines in the lead up to his highly anticipated return to Anfield.
The former Red was greeted by a chorus of boos during warm-ups and then when he came on the pitch in the 81st minute. The brief cameo was the first appearance in seven weeks for Alexander-Arnold, who suffered a hamstring injury in early September.
The bristling reception from the loyal Liverpool supporters was echoed by Van Dijk in his postgame interview with , though not as overtly.
When asked if he had seen Alexander-Arnold before the match or if he plans to see his former teammate at some point after the match, the centre back emphatically responded, “No.” He then repeated the one-word answer with a tone that left no room for follow-up questions.
Alexander-Arnold still shared embraces with several of his former teammates, including Mohamed Salah and Ibrahima Konaté, as well as Arne Slot after the final whistle of Liverpool’s victory.
Unlike other times this season, the defending English champions did not miss their former vice-captain on the right flank on Tuesday night. Conor Bradley put in an exceptional performance to silence Vinícius Júnior, who ended the game without a shot on target.
