Trent Alexander-Arnold described his Real Madrid debut as “incredible” while playing his first minutes for his new club in their 1-1 draw with Al-Hilal at the Club World Cup.
Alexander-Arnold played until one hour before he was replaced on Wednesday by Lucas Vazquez in a hard rock stage.
Gonzalo Garcia had given the side of Xabi Alonso the lead in the 34th minute before Ruben Neves decreased from the penalty spot in the final phases of the first half.
Madrid almost started their group H campaign with a victory, only to see the fine of Federico Valverde in the second minute of the second half of the stop time that Yassine Bounou was saved.
Alexander-Arnold itself had a mixed game and struggled to control Al-Hilal Talemman Salem Al Dawsari, but was able to create opportunities on the other side of the field.
Indeed, the English international ended the competition with team -high Totals for the last third entries (12) and total crosses (five, level with Arda Guler).
Only Valverde (17) played more fit in the last third than Alexander-Arnold (16), although the full-back ownership lost 12 times, more than any other Madrid player.
“It's an incredible day,” he said on Channel 5. “It is something that almost every player dreams. Of course there is some disappointment not to have won the game.
“The mentality that you should have as a Real Madrid player is to wish and expect every game. But there were many positives, especially in the second half.”
Alexander-Arnold took the time to praise the “great” Madrid fans since his arrival from Liverpool, but also acknowledged that there are improvements that his new team can make.
Alonso only became the fourth manager who used his Los Blancos debut in all competitions, after Fabio Capello in 1996, Jose Mourinho in 2010 and Rafael Benitez in 2015.
But Madrid dominated the competition statistics and ended the game with an expected goals (XG) a total of 2.64 of their 19 shots to Al-Hilal's 1.88 of their 13 attempts.
“I think we kept the ball really good in the second half – that's what we missed in the first half,” Alexander -Arnold added.
“In this heat it is important to hold the ball as well as possible as you can. We were a lot in and around their box. It was just not meant.
“Nobody is the culprit and we take the positives, and we have things we can work on. I am sure we will do that in the next game.”
Madrid plays the Mexican outfit Pachuca in their next club World Cup group match on Sunday before they completed their group H campaign against Red Bull Salzburg.
Alexander-Arnold was also asked how long he had already learned Spanish after he had spoken fluently in the language during his revelation last week.
“Not too long (learning Spanish), it was something that was important,” said Alexander-Arnold.
“Give myself the best possible start, new city, new team, show that I want to embrace the culture, immerse myself in it, adjusting myself as quickly as possible. It was very important to do this.”