Jude Bellingham has leapt to the defence of Trent Alexander-Arnold after England’s win over Serbia on Sunday.
The Three Lions edged out Dragan Stojkovic’s side 1-0 in their Euro 2024 opener in Gelsenkirchen, with Bellingham scoring the decisive goal after just 13 minutes.
Gareth Southgate deployed Alexander-Arnold in centre midfield alongside Declan Rice for the clash, with this an idea the England boss has been working on over the past year.
The Reds star – who usually plays at right back – initially impressed and looked bright alongside several of his team-mates in the first half.
However, Alexander-Arnold faded as the game went on and was exposed on a few occasions, while he was also guilty of surrendering possession in dangerous areas.
Jude Bellingham has defended Trent Alexander-Arnold after England’s 1-0 win over Serbia
Alexander-Arnold was deployed in midfield by Gareth Southgate for the Euro 2024 clash
He was ultimately replaced by Conor Gallagher in the 69th minute as England aimed to shore up the midfield and hold onto their lead.
But Bellingham, who was the Three Lions’ star man on the night, hit back at the critics and insisted Alexander-Arnold’s display had been underappreciated.
‘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 went on to hail Alexander-Arnold’s ability and felt the 26-cap star brought something different to the side.
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.’
Alexander-Arnold started well, but begun to struggle as the game went on and was criticised
Bellingham claimed ‘people talk a lot of rubbish’ and said Alexander-Arnold was ‘brilliant’
England’s victory put them straight to the top of Group C after Denmark and Slovenia drew 1-1 earlier on Sunday.
The Three Lions return to action on Thursday when they take on the Danes, before Southgate’s side face Slovenia the following Tuesday.
