Trent

It was only the shadow of brilliant Real keeper Thibaut Courtois that threatened to stop Liverpool getting what they merited, with a stunning individual performance that revived memories of how he defied them when Jurgen Klopp’s team lost the 2022 Champions League final in Paris.

The Belgian made a string of magnificent saves, including four from Dominik Szoboszlai and a remarkable reflex stop from Virgil van Dijk’s header, before even he was powerless to stop Mac Allister’s header from the Hungarian’s free-kick.

Liverpool’s narrow victory margin does not touch the sides of their domination from first whistle to last, these crucial three points pushing them into sixth place in the Champions League table, a standing that will put them in the last 16 without the need to resort to a play-off if maintained.

Szoboszlai and Mac Allister ruled midfield, while Florian Wirtz provided some of the subtle touches that made his name at Bayer Leverkusen. Hugo Ekitike was a constant menace.

Liverpool were, unlike so often this season, rock solid at the back as Kylian Mbappe was marginalised, delivering a dreadful, error-strewn display. Vinicius had been beaten by Bradley long before the end.

If it was a miserable night for Alexander-Arnold, it was not much better for Jude Bellingham, offered the Anfield stage to deliver a reminder of his class before England head coach Thomas Tuchel names his squad to face Serbia and Albania after excluding him last time.

He provided one moment of danger in the first half when he forced Giorgi Mamardashvili to save with his legs, but was otherwise anonymous as Real failed to establish any sort of stranglehold.

Bellingham conceded the free-kick in a dangerous position that led to Mac Allister’s goal, offering little as Real tried to force their way back into contention, although he was not alone there.

He offered words of sympathy to Alexander-Arnold: “Obviously, it is one of those things in football. The fans booing isn’t a reflection of how they feel about him.

“I think it is more to give their team the edge and throw him off a little bit. I am sure they’re appreciative of what he has done for the club.”

Alexander-Arnold, once an Anfield idol, probably could not wait to get back to his new Madrid home, while life for Liverpool suddenly looks much brighter ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Manchester City at Etihad Stadium.

BBC Sport pundit Nedum Onuoha and tactics correspondent Umir Irfan join Sam Harris to discuss Trent Alexander-Arnold’s tough return to Anfield with Real Madrid.

READ MORE: Liverpool ‘back to their best’ as they dominate Real Madrid

WATCH: On-the-whistle reaction on BBC iPlayer

Warnock said: “There is a great player in Conor Bradley, but he needs to stay fit and get a run of games to build up a relationship with Salah. These things can take time, even with the best players.

“Trent leaving has had an impact on Salah. Their partnership, if not exactly unnoticed, was almost taken as read. Yes, they are world-class individuals, but it was also a partnership.

“They really complemented each other. Trent could go inside, draw people towards him, which freed up more space for Salah. And when Salah drove at people he had the ability to feed Trent because teams were backing off.”

Alexander-Arnold’s comfort in possession with his fellow defenders, plus the ability to move into midfield, means his presence is also sorely missed elsewhere.

Warnock said: “I think Ibrahima Konate probably misses him as well. He knew he could give Trent the ball under pressure. I think it is having an impact on the right-hand side of the pitch, both in defence and attack.

“Liverpool also created a box system in the centre of midfield, which they did so well, when Trent was in the side.

“There was a lot of praise given to Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai, but Trent was a big part of that as well. Losing that extra body in the midfield area, when he was in there, is also missed because opponents were drawn to him, fearful of what he could create.”

Jeremie Frimpong, signed in a £29m deal from Bayer Leverkusen to compete with Bradley for the place vacated by Alexander-Arnold, has had his Anfield start curtailed by hamstring injuries.

Warnock said: “The biggest issue with Frimpong is not only injuries, but what is his best position? At Bayer Leverkusen he spent a lot of time as a right wing-back.”

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon State fired coach Trent Bray on Sunday after the team fell to 0-7, its worst start to a season since 1991.

Robb Akey will be the interim head coach for the rest of the seson pending a national search for Bray’s successor, athletic director Scott Barnes said.

“I want to thank Coach Bray for the energy and determination he brought to the role. A former student-athlete, proud graduate, and dedicated mentor, Trent’s connection to Oregon State runs deep — he will always be a Beaver,” Barnes said. “This was a difficult decision, but the results on the field were not acceptable and after evaluating every aspect of the football program, I believe it is in the best interests of OSU football student-athletes, our fans and our university.”

The move came a day after backup quarterback Deshawn Purdie threw for 270 yards and four touchdowns in his first start for Wake Forest and the visiting Demon Deacons beat Oregon State 39-14 in front of a listless home crowd. The Beavers haven’t started this poorly since 1991, when they started 0-10.

After the game, Bray said he planned to keep showing up “until they tell me I can’t.”

“I’m frustrated. I’m disappointed. I look at myself, and I’ve got to fix it,” Bray said after the game. “It’s unacceptable to me where we’re at. That’s just how I look at it. What can I do? I’ve got to look at it. What can I do different to get these guys going?”

A week ago, Oregon State fired special teams coach Jamie Christian and Barnes said he and Bray were evaluating the program with an eye toward making immediate changes.

The buyout of Bray’s contract will be paid “exclusively using donor-generated funds,” the school said.

Akey is a veteran coach with experience in college and as an NFL assistant.

If ‘the best things in life are free’ then clearly nobody told the 20 Premier League clubs, who spent an eye-watering £3.1bn this summer.

The top tier of English football is in a unique position. As the Premier League’s popularity and profits have grown, the money awarded to clubs competing in it far outweighs that of their European counterparts.

But Real Madrid once again proved this summer that money can only do so much.

There can be little doubt that when it comes to acquiring world-class talent for nothing or next to nothing, the Spanish giants are in a league of their own.

When Los Blancos signed Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool for 10m euros (£8.4m) in June, the fee was just to accelerate the move so he could be registered in time to play in the Club World Cup.

That signing meant for the fourth time in five years Real Madrid had won the free transfer lottery after signing David Alaba in 2021, Antonio Rudiger in 2022, Kylian Mbappe in 2024 and Alexander-Arnold, who would have joined for free if Real had decided to wait, in 2025.

What makes their hoard even more impressive is that they have signed talent from their biggest European rivals in Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Paris St-German and Liverpool respectively.

La Liga commentator Phil Kitromilides told BBC Sport that when the 36-time champions of Spain come calling it’s almost impossible to ignore them.

“It doesn’t matter where you come from, it doesn’t matter who you played for before. It doesn’t matter who your team was when you were growing up as a kid, this is it. This is the biggest thing you will ever do in your career,” he said.

“Take Trent for example – he was playing for his boyhood team [Liverpool]. He wouldn’t have done this for any other club but Real Madrid. It’s the allure, the grandeur.”

The fact Real Madrid sign these players for nothing is not the surprising factor. What’s intriguing is more often than not the players are aware the La Liga club perhaps can’t afford or are maybe unwilling to pay the asking price for them.

However, they are so keen to join they are willing to run down the final year of their current deals to make it happen.

Real Madrid have a long and illustrious history of winning major trophies – and the same can be said for landing a prized free agent, notably dating back to 1988 when German international Bernd Schuster famously left Barcelona to ply his trade at the Bernabeu.

Add to the list Steve McManaman, Michael Laudrup and Fernando Morientes – a few other names who’ve made the move for free.

Kitromilides added: “[In Madrid] second is nothing, absolutely nothing. The club has a relentless desire to win everything, every single possible trophy. This philosophy has helped them to build an aura of mystique. That is what’s helped convinced big-name players to run down their contracts at big clubs.”

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, James Trafford, Dean Henderson

Defenders: Reece James, Marc Guehi, John Stones, Dan Burn, Ezri Konsa, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Tino Livramento, Djed Spence

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson, Morgan Gibbs-White, Jordan Henderson, Adam Wharton, Morgan Rogers, Declan Rice

Forwards: Harry Kane, Eberechi Eze, Jarrod Bowen, Anthony Gordon, Noni Madueke, Marcus Rashford, Ollie Watkins

Spectacular fifties from Jordan Cox and Sam Curran fired Oval Invincibles to a thrilling six-wicket victory over Trent Rockets in a table-topping clash in The Hundred.

Cox hammered an unbeaten 58 from 32 balls and Curran struck 54 from 24, as the Invincibles hit a remarkable 103 runs from 28 deliveries to drive to victory with 11 balls to spare.

Opener Joe Root struck a season-best 76 as Rockets reached 171-7 and the visitors looked well-placed in their reply when they had their opponents 70-2 after 60 balls.

However, Cox and Curran launched a superb turnaround from that point, adding 51 from the next 10 legitimate deliveries.

The pair smashed six sixes and a four between them as they took 19 off David Willey and 32 from Sam Cook, who bowled the most expensive five-ball set in men’s Hundred history.

Curran reached his fifty from 22 balls, but fell before the close, caught on the ropes off Rehan Ahmed.

Cox pushed on, reaching his own half-century from 30 deliveries, guiding his side home alongside Donovan Ferreira and Sam Billings.

The win near guarantees Invincibles a play-off spot and offers further evidence as to why the two-time defending champions remain the team to beat in the men’s competition.

Trent Rockets kept their slim qualification hopes alive with a six-wicket win over Oval Invincibles in The Hundred women’s competition.

Rockets made hard work of chasing just 110 at The Kia Oval after a flurry of middle-order wickets, but Heather Graham held her nerve with an unbeaten 19 from 11 balls and they reached their target with 16 balls to spare.

The visitors had a flying start from Bryony Smith and Grace Scrivens, who added 51 in 35 balls together, but the Invincibles fought back to remove Smith for 24 and claimed the huge wickets of Nat Sciver-Brunt for two and Ash Gardner for 11.

Scrivens then fell for 34 but Graham and Jodi Grewcock, with 21 not out, settled the Rockets’ nerves and sealed their first win against the Invincibles.

In contrast to the Rockets’ rapid start, Invincibles crawled to 13-1 from their powerplay, which included 16 dot balls, as captain Lauren Winfield-Hill fell for seven from 14.

Former Australia skipper Meg Lanning revived the innings as she kicked on to 45 from 35 balls, but Ash Gardner changed the course of the game as she dismissed Lanning and Marizanne Kapp in the space of three balls.

Paige Scholfield whacked the last ball for six to take Invincibles to 109-7 but her 16 not out was the second highest score of the innings as they failed to put partnerships together throughout.

Both Rockets and Invincibles, who are two-time winners, need to win all of their remaining games and still hope for other results to go their way.

England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt hits an unbeaten 51 to help Trent Rockets secure their first win of this year’s Hundred as they beat London Spirit by 33 runs, ending the defending champions’ perfect start.

MATCH REPORT: Spirit’s winning run ended by resurgent Rockets

Available to UK users only.

“As hard as it was to do it, I had to push myself to focus on what my job and role was. I tried to do it as best as I could, but it was difficult and I am not going to lie about that.

“[Jota] was one of my close friends – and I am sure that’s what he would have wanted me to do. I’m sure we would have had a laugh and joke about the assist as well. He was there with me, I am sure.”

Alexander-Arnold said the Portuguese forward was “someone who lit up the room when he was in it”.

“I shared the dressing room with him for five years – amazing memories on and off the pitch,” he added.

“It goes without saying he will never be forgotten by anyone. He will live long in all our memories for the amazing man and the player he was.”

Alexander-Arnold said it had been “very emotional and heartwarming to see the footballing world come together to show their love and support for [Jota], his brother and their family”.

“I’ve been around him, his brother, his family, his amazing wife, his amazing parents and his amazing children. It’s truly, truly heartbreaking to wake up to news like that,” added the England international.

“It’s something you never expect.”

Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe was among the players who paid tribute to Jota on Saturday, with the France forward indicating number 20 after scoring an acrobatic late goal, in recognition of Jota’s Liverpool shirt number.

Frenchman Ousmane Dembele also paid a tribute to the Portuguese by copying his Fifa gaming celebration after sealing a 2-0 win for Paris St-Germain against Bayern Munich, which set up a last-four meeting with Real Madrid.

Alexander-Arnold and Robertson played together on 279 occasions – an average of 35 games a season in all competitions in their eight seasons together.

And each of them only played more games with Mohamed Salah.

Robertson joined from Hull City for £8m in 2017-18 with Alexander-Arnold, an academy product, having made his debut the season before.

They won 185 of those 279 games, losing 43 times.

The two full-backs played attacking roles in former boss Jurgen Klopp’s high-energy football – and had a hand in nearly unprecedented numbers of goals.

In isolation their assist hauls would be remarkable but the fact they were both doing it at the same time is even more amazing.

In March 2019 Alexander-Arnold told the BBC: “We both thrive off each other’s performances.

“We have got a competition between ourselves this season to see who gets more goals and assists. It’s a healthy competition.”

Only on 10 occasions in Premier League history has a defender created 10 or more goals in a Premier League season – and Alexander-Arnold and Robertson have each done it three times.

In 2019-20 they assisted 25 goals between them.

Better at attacking than defending has been one of the most common ways to describe Alexander-Arnold’s career to date.

A full-back who bombed forward, and sometimes in a hybrid right-back/midfield role.

For a while, then England boss Gareth Southgate even tried him as a regular midfielder.

He left Anfield with 23 goals and 86 assists as he almost changed what the idea of a full-back can be.

So all eyes were on how he would fare with a new team.

“We know Trent Alexander-Arnold’s quality on the ball,” said former Newcastle and Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given on Dazn.

“He is a phenomenal player.

“Real Madrid in the Spanish league will have a lot of possession and Trent will play higher up the pitch.

“He will be questioned in this tournament defensively as they come up against stronger opposition. Can he step up?

“He said he wanted to go there and win the Ballon d’Or. That’s a big statement in itself.”

Alonso lined up with a standard back four in Miami – as opposed to the wing-back system he enjoyed great success with at Bayer Leverkusen.

Alexander-Arnold played at right-back and did get involved in midfield too.

But as the graphics above show he did not get as involved as much centrally as he did in his last start for Liverpool, a 3-1 loss at Chelsea on 4 May.

And he got involved in deeper positions too, to the right side of the penalty box, which is a place he was not seen as often in that game at Stamford Bridge.

But he attempted more crossfield balls than he did at Chelsea (as evidenced by the graphics below).

However – and it is something he might have to get used to until he settles in – he did not take any set-pieces for Real.

Newcastle striker Callum Wilson, who has been in England squads with the defender, said: “I have not seen as many people strike a ball as cleanly as him. Free-kicks, corners, set-pieces, he is going to add that to their game.

“He is going to be showing his qualities and won’t be getting challenged defensively as much.”

LIVERPOOL could be set to lose a second top star to a Madrid rival after Atletico Madrid reportedly made Andy Robertson their top target.

The Reds are already reeling from the loss of right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid and could now be forced to deal with the loss of left-back Robertson in the same window.

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Trent Alexander-Arnold is unveiled as a Real Madrid player and impresses the crowd, including club president Florentino Perez, by speaking Spanish and saying “it’s a dream come true”.

READ MORE: Why Alexander-Arnold is not allowed to wear number 66 for Real Madrid

ABC’s “Will Trent” is no ordinary police procedural.

“There’s a thousand cop shows,” said Ramón Rodriguez, who portrays the show’s main character, Will Trent. “How do you make this one stand out?”

The broadcast drama series, which also airs on Hulu, centers special agent Trent: a dapper investigator whose instinctual crime-solving skills render him essential to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. But beneath the three-piece suit, there’s a more complex side to Trent, who navigates the residual trauma from being abandoned at birth and growing up in the Atlanta foster care system. He is also dyslexic.

“One of the exciting things when I came onto the show was not knowing where this character was from,” said Rodriguez, 45. “Trent was very much [written as] a colorless character.”

Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Rodriguez greeted me on a Zoom call from his present home in Southern California, while wearing a New York Knicks cap. Before “Will Trent,” he previously played the first main Hispanic character on the HBO series “The Wire,” and appeared in films such as 2009’s “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and “G20,” a thriller featuring Viola Davis, which premiered April 10 on Amazon Prime Video.

Since the 2023 premiere of “Will Trent,” Rodriguez has molded his beloved character in many ways; he’s a hard-nosed detective with a mushy side, which is most evident in scenes with his pocket-sized chihuahua named Betty. Based on Karin Slaughter’s New York Times-bestselling novel series “Will Trent,” showrunners Liz Heldens and Daniel Thomsen organically tailored the titular role to reflect Rodriguez’s real-life Puerto Rican identity. It’s a major win for Latinos in an industry that otherwise lacks Latino-led programming.

“Once we run out of feeling fresh, creative, excited and inspired, then I think we start phoning it in,” said Rodriguez. “But that’s something I’m not interested in and I know my partners aren’t either.”

Rodriguez has taken on roles behind the camera as well. He directed “I’m a Guest Here,” the first episode of Season 3, which wrapped earlier this month; he was also named an executive producer. “I really wanted to be a part of the creative collaboration of creating this character in this show,” said Rodriguez.

When Season 3 dropped a bombshell regarding Trent’s biological father, it paved the way for a nail-biting Season 4, which was confirmed earlier this year.

This interview has been edited and shortened for clarity. It also reveals Season 3 spoilers.

In the books, Will Trent isn’t Puerto Rican, but this series is peeking into your own Puerto Rican identity. What are your thoughts on that?

It was a topic that they were curious about exploring. Where does Will come from as an orphan who grew up in the foster care system? Identity becomes a focal point for someone like that. Again [him being Puerto Rican] isn’t in the books, which is kind of exciting. We’ve been able to separate and say that the books are the books.

It wasn’t something that we were trying to sort of check a box and say, “Great, Will’s heritage is Puerto Rican.” It was a very organic explanation of this character discovering who he is.

When you were cast for the lead, did you ever picture the show as what it is today?

 You never know what’s gonna work and why it’s gonna work. You don’t have control of a lot of things in this business. The one thing I do have control over is my work, what I can bring to it, what I try to do. This is the first time I’ve been on a show that’s gone on for this long from the pilot.

If you would’ve asked me that, is this gonna be the show that goes past one season? I probably would’ve said, “I don’t think so.” And it’s nothing against the show, you just don’t know. It took a minute for me to be fully convinced, but I’m so grateful that they were willing to continue having conversations with me and that they were really willing to have me on as a partner because that was important to me.

It doesn’t feel like the show hinges on those elements of identity. Why is it important to keep that balance in this procedural show?

[Solving cases is] another aspect of the show that I know audiences love. I just think the things that tend to pull our hearts to the things that are emotional and personal things, what someone’s struggling with or how are they overcoming it.

In Season 3, we have a really pivotal moment where Will accidentally shoots a bad guy, but ends up killing a young boy by accident. That case ended up changing the rest of the season — he was not able to recover from that event of having the boy die in his arms. That was Episode 11 and that will likely go into Season 4.

Your dog Betty also shines in Season 3. We get to hear her voice for the first time which happens during a fun hallucination scene. What was it like to film that episode?

That was two episodes after this tragic episode I just described, which is crazy, right? We wanted to mix levity and humor with our heavy drama and emotional stuff.

So as Will was entering this case that involved a cult, he gets caught undercover and in that process he gets drugged. Liz Heldens, one of our showrunners, had been dying to find a way to get me to dance on this show, and I was like “Listen: Will Trent is an awkward individual, he’s not someone that’s out here dancing.” She was like, “Well, what if that’s a hallucination?” I was like, “That’s brilliant!” Anything can happen while he’s tripping.

I remember I was walking on set and one of our production assistants, Tim, had read the script and said, “What if Betty talks?” So I pitched that to Liz and she topped it and went, “Well, what if Betty’s British?”

You made your directorial debut in Season 3. How was that experience for you?

I felt like a kid in a candy store. By Season 3, I really understood the character and what works with our show, where our strengths are. I just got to be me in certain scenes, because at the start of the [third] season Will has left the [Georgia Bureau of Investigation], he’s got a beard and he’s in a T-shirt, jeans and curly hair.

It was also fun to direct new cast members. We introduced Gina Rodriguez, who played Marion Alba, and Antwayn Hopper, who played Rafel Wexford. Which was really fun. I’d be like: “No notes.” [Laughs.]

Will you be directing in Season 4?

 I will definitely be directing at least one episode next season. It makes the most sense for me to direct the premiere as I did this past season. I love that pressure of having to set the bar for a season.

What can audiences expect for the upcoming season?

We’re about to begin these serious conversations. There were some pretty serious cliffhangers at the end of Season 3, where we find out Angie Polaski (Erika Christensen) is pregnant, and Will is definitely not the father, so that’s gonna be something to explore. Amanda Wagner (Sonja Sohn), who is a maternal figure for Will, is in the hospital bed. We just discovered his dad, [Sheriff Caleb Roussard], which we don’t know too much about, so I’d want to know more about the character and what happened with the mom. There’s just so many questions that we will get to explore — I mean, is there new love in Will’s life?

Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says he turned off his television when he heard supporters booing Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The 26-year-old defender is leaving the club at the end of the season and is expected to join Real Madrid.

Alexander-Arnold arrived at the club aged six and was a key component in Liverpool’s success under German Klopp, which included a first league title in 30 years in 2019-20.

However after announcing his decision to not sign a new contract, some fans turned against the player and some booed him when he came off the substitutes bench against Arsenal earlier this month.

Speaking at a fundraising event for the LFC Foundation on Friday, where he brought along a signed Alexander-Arnold shirt to auction, the ex-manager said supporters were “wrong” to boo and launched a passionate defence of the England full-back.

“I don’t want to tell you what you have to think. I can tell you what you think is wrong,” Klopp said.

“I don’t tell you you should not be angry, you should not be disappointed, I tell you don’t forget. This club doesn’t forget.

“I watched the game when he came on and I heard the booing. I switched the telly [television] off. Honestly, I could not have been more disappointed at this moment.”

And he highlighted the Liverpool-born player’s commitment to the club during Klopp’s spell as manager.

“I was there. I can tell you, this boy he gave absolutely everything,” he said.

Back trouble restricted Muzarabani’s playing time with Northants, but the injury did not affect the learning process.

On the field, Ben Sanderson showed him how to bowl a full length in English conditions. Off the field, he formed a tight bond with Saif Zaib, Jack White and Ben Curran, the latter now a Zimbabwe team-mate.

Even when he could not play for Northants, the county still put Muzarabani to work.

“When I was injured I was touring the sponsorship boxes at Northampton,” he says. “I’d go in there and start conversations with fans. It really helped me to communicate, how to carry myself as a professional – outside cricket, just being a good human being.”

Brexit ended the Kolpak era and Muzarabani returned to the plan to resume his international career. He was back in Zimbabwe colours in late 2020, a “better bowler” for his sojourn in England.

Now his career is really gathering pace. A growing reputation as a white-ball operator has earned Muzarabani an Indian Premier League deal with Royal Challengers Bangalore, under coach and compatriot Andy Flower. Muzarabani will head for India straight after the Test in Nottingham.

The whip in Muzarabani’s action have led to comparisons with South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada. With his height and skid, they may be more similarities with former England pace bowler Steven Finn.

Zimbabwe’s chequered past means there are few very meaningful statistics to overhaul, although Muzarabani has the chance to carve his niche. This year no team play more than Zimbabwe’s 11 Tests, meaning he can build from his current 51 wickets towards becoming only the second bowler from the country to reach 100.

The other to top three figures, external is Heath Streak, his 216 unlikely to be overhauled. Even Streak cannot match Muzarabani’s average of 21.84, by far the lowest of any Zimbabwe bowler to have sent down at least 60 overs in Test cricket.

Zimbabwe have not played a Test against England since 2003.

Before then some of the country’s most famous cricketing moments came against the English: Eddo Brandes at the 1992 World Cup, England coach David Lloyd proclaiming “we flipping murdered ’em” in the first drawn Test with the scores level in Bulawayo in 1996.

And 2025?

“England are one of the best teams in the world,” says Muzarabani. “We believe in ourselves. We believe can win. We just have bring our ‘A’ game to beat these guys.”