Arne Slot described Trent Alexander-Arnold as a “special human being” after sharing an emotional embrace with the former Liverpool star following his difficult homecoming at Anfield.
The Real Madrid defender was greeted with a chorus of boos when he came on as a late substitute, with home fans jeering his every touch.
The Kop instead roared in support of Conor Bradley, whose name echoed around the stadium shortly after Alexis Mac Allister’s second-half header sealed a well-earned victory for Slot’s side.
It proved a night to forget for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who endured a torrid 14-minute cameo on his return to Merseyside. After the final whistle, Slot was seen consoling the 27-year-old with a heartfelt embrace.
The Liverpool boss explained: “He (Alexander-Arnold) lost so that is tough. I said something like ‘keep going’ to him. I honestly didn’t know exactly what I said to him.
“He has been special to this club, he has been special to me.
“And he is a special human being. So, for me to give him a hug is something I will do every single time I see him.”
However, the Liverpool boss also reserved special praise for Bradley, the man who has stepped into Alexander-Arnold’s former role with composure and confidence this season.
“Let’s be clear, we had a very bad run of form in terms of results,” Arne Slot added.
“No excuse in the world can make up for us losing so many games but we had to play a lot of games in a small amount of time, with hardly any rest in between when we played a team who had a lot of rest.
“Tonight we played against a team that played on Saturday as well, so it is two days rest and it is helpful to play a home game because we have played six of eight away from home.
“So that gives you a bit of an extra edge if you are a little bit tired.
“Conor was outstanding, last season he was outstanding against Real Madrid and had to go off after 80 minutes because of an injury.
“And now, here three days after he played 90 minutes against Villa, he was against Vinicius for 90 minutes of incredible intensity. I told the players before the game, they have 26 goals in La Liga and Mbappe and Vinicius have 24 goal contributions together.
“So if you want any chance of winning the game, you should defend your set-pieces well, teams can score but great individuals can score goals as well and these two definitely can.
“Conor defended very well against Vinicius.”
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