Alexander-Arnold Set To Break 24-Year Record In Champions League Final

By Max Wise

Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold has come in leaps and bounds since breaking into the first team at the start of the 2017/2018 season, and now the England international is set to break a long-standing Champions League record in Madrid next week.

Alexander-Arnold will become the youngest player ever to start in back-to-back UEFA Champions League finals when he takes to the field from the start against Tottenham Hotspurs at Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano stadium on June 1.

That honour has been held by former AC Milan, Real Madrid, Chelsea and AS Roma defender, Christian Panucci, for the last 24 years after the Italian started in both the 1994 and 1995 Champions League finals.

Panucci was just 22 years of age when he started for AC Milan in the 1995 Champions League final defeat to Ajax Amsterdam, having done so the previous year in the Rossoneri’s triumph over Barcelona at the Olympic Stadium in Athens.

Alexander-Arnold, who does not turn 21 until October, played full throttle as Liverpool lost 3-1 to Real Madrid in last year’s final, and as the Reds first choice right-back, he is set to feature again from the start as they bid to win a sixth European crown against their English counterparts.

Alexander-Arnold has already enjoyed a record-breaking season with Liverpool as his 12 Premier League assists is the highest for a defender in a single season in Premier League history.

The five-time England international has provided a remarkable eight assists in his last six appearances, including the quick-thinking corner that allowed Divock Origi to score the crucial fourth goal against Barcelona in the semi-final second leg at Anfield.