Alexander-Arnold fails to ease Tuchel concerns as Kane stars

· BBC Sport
England outcast Trent Alexander-Arnold had a mixed night for Real Madrid against Bayern MunichGetty Images

By
Phil McNulty
Chief football writer at the Bernabeu
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England head coach Thomas Tuchel made the journey to Madrid on his latest World Cup reconnaissance mission and was richly rewarded by a thrilling Champions League tie between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

Tuchel's eyes were trained on Real Madrid pair Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jude Bellingham, as well as captain Harry Kane in his role as Bayern's prime goalscorer.

He will have left with suspicions confirmed about Alexander-Arnold, as well as concrete evidence from Bellingham and Kane that they are surely indispensable when England's World Cup campaign kicks off against Croatia in Arlington on 17 June.

Champions League nights at the Bernabeu are always special occasions, with supporters swarming around the magnificent arena hours before kick-off and thousands of fans clad in white gathering on Plaze de los Sagrados Corazones to welcome Real Madrid's team bus.

To add to the drama, a warm Madrid afternoon suddenly turned to blackened skies and a deluge to set a spectacular stage for this meeting of European heavyweights.

As a classic unfolded, the game held contrasting fortunes for those Tuchel had under his microscope.

Alexander-Arnold is perhaps the most intriguing case study of the trio Tuchel was scrutinising, lavishly gifted and playing at the club most regard as the world's biggest, and yet seemingly with no part to play in England's summer strategy.

The 27-year-old, who moved from Liverpool last summer, has had a rocky introduction to life at Real and also suffered the ignominy of being left out of Tuchel's 35-man England squad for friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.

And then, if that was not painful enough, when Tuchel called on replacements, he ignored Alexander-Arnold in favour of Ben White, not a regular at Arsenal this season and someone who had gone into self-imposed exile after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

For Alexander-Arnold to change Tuchel's mind at this late stage will not be easy, and his mixed display here may have confirmed misgivings about him rather than enhanced his prospects.

In a poor first half display, Alexander-Arnold not only wasted possession far too often, but also almost gifted Bayern a goal with pass straight to Michael Olise. He was then caught napping by former Liverpool team-mate Luis Diaz as the forward put Bayern in front.

Tuchel has voiced his concerns about Alexander-Arnold's defending and this was it in full view. And yet he then showed why he has admirers who find his exclusion from Tuchel's plans puzzling.

As Real finally woke up with Bayern leading 2-0, it was Alexander-Arnold who delivered a series of dangerous set-pieces before firing in an inviting low cross for Kylian Mbappe to pull a goal back.

This was Alexander-Arnold in microcosm, and was not the sort of performance to have Tuchel shuffling the names already formed in his mind for World Cup selection.

The inconsistent nature of his performance is confirmed by his pass completion rate of 69.2%, the lowest of anyone in the match.

England captain Harry Kane scored Bayern Munich's second goal in their impressive win against Real MadridGetty Images

Kane absence too damaging to contemplate

Bellingham was kept on the bench for an hour as he recovers from a hamstring injury but, with unrest growing inside the Bernabeu and Real fans likely to be thinking of reaching for the white handkerchiefs in their standard gesture of disapproval, he emerged.

In a chaotic last 30 minutes, he drove Real forward with trademark surging runs as he single-handedly altered the tempo of their game.

Bellingham is another hot topic for Tuchel, who has shown he is not afraid of dropping big names and that places - even in his squad, not just the starting XI - are earned on form.

There is a genuine competition for England's number 10 spot between Bellingham and several other candidates led by Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers, with Cole Palmer and Eberechi Eze further alternatives.

However, this influential cameo demonstrated why the temptation to start the World Cup with Bellingham may be impossible for Tuchel to resist.

Any concern for Kane only centres on his fitness, not his world-class quality and importance as England's record goalscorer with 78 goals in 112 appearances.

England looked toothless without him against Uruguay and Japan and when he also missed Bayern's game over the weekend, fears grew over a more serious issue than had been diagnosed.

However Kane made Bayern's starting line-up, to huge cheers from their thousands of travelling fans when his name was read out, but - as he often does after an absence - looked sluggish in a frenetic first 45 minutes.

Then in one moment seconds after half-time, Kane showed why England's hopes for World Cup success will be vastly reduced if he was missing.

He picked up a pass 20 yards out before delivering a perfect low drive into the bottom corner, leaving Real goalkeeper Andriy Lunin with no chance.

"All the hype around it, coming to Madrid and trying to get a result, is always a difficult thing to do," he said after the game.

"We had some good chances, credit to them they did too. We're in the business end of the season now. We always feel dangerous - we always feel like we can score goals for sure."

And Kane, for Bayern and England, also feels he can always score goals.

Tuchel would no doubt have smiled in satisfaction as this latest example of the elite striker he has at his disposal - and how life without him is impossible to contemplate.

Watch highlights of every Champions League game from 22:00 on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

There will also be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One on Wednesday, from 22:40 to 00:00.

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