Jude Bellingham has come out in support of Trent Alexander-Arnold following England’s victory over Serbia on Sunday.
In their Euro 2024 opener in Gelsenkirchen, England narrowly defeated Dragan Stojkovic’s side 1-0, with Bellingham netting the decisive goal just 13 minutes into the match.
Manager Gareth Southgate opted to deploy Alexander-Arnold in central midfield alongside Declan Rice, a tactical experiment he has been refining over the past year.
The Liverpool star, typically a right-back, initially made a positive impression and linked well with his teammates during the first half.
However, as the game progressed, Alexander-Arnold’s performance waned, leading to a few instances where he was caught out defensively and lost possession in risky areas.
In the 69th minute, Conor Gallagher replaced Alexander-Arnold as Southgate sought to strengthen midfield and protect their narrow lead.
Bellingham, who stood out as England’s top performer in the match, defended Alexander-Arnold against criticism, emphasising that his contributions were undervalued throughout the game.
“He makes it so easy for me because he can control the game so well defensively in that position,’ Bellingham told ITV Sport.
“I know people talk a lot of rubbish but he’s so aggressive with that back to goal pressure and it really helped me as well because it meant I got a breather when he went out.
“I think we understand each other well with the ball, he wants to play positive all the time, he wants to play forward all the time.”
The Real Madrid star praised Alexander-Arnold’s abilities and believed the player, who has 26 caps, added a unique dimension to the team.
He added : ‘We accept as team-mates who have that kind of quality that we are going to lose the ball and that’s fine.
“We will win it back for each other and we will keep playing. I thought he was brilliant.”
England’s win propelled them to the top of Group C following Denmark and Slovenia’s 1-1 draw earlier on Sunday.
The Three Lions will next play Denmark on Thursday, followed by a match against Slovenia the following Tuesday under Southgate’s leadership.
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