Madrid, Tranmere and an up-and-down few days for Alexander-Arnold

From being courted by the European champions to suffering the ignominy of rejection by the team placed 20th in League Two, it’s certainly been an up-and-down few days for Trent Alexander-Arnold. The subject of a cheeky £20m bid from Real Madrid last week, the Liverpool full-back did not enjoy one of his more auspicious afternoons in a Liverpool shirt at Anfield on Sunday, putting in a first-half shift that was so dismal it left the Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane incredulous. “We’re talking about him going to Real Madrid but he’ll be going to Tranmere Rovers after this performance,” quipped the Irishman, whose zinger has since been so widely reported he might be tempted to take it on a tour of regional arts centres in a one-man stand-up show, only for Tranmere to outwit him by posting a photo of their right-back Cameron Norman on their socials alongside the caption: “Trent to Tranmere? Nah, we’re alright thanks.”

While Trent would almost certainly be the first to admit he endured something of a shocker, only he knows for sure whether or not his head was in the tumble-dryer due to speculation linking him with a move to the Spanish capital. He might also be tempted to point out that he was given precious little assistance by – but several stink-eyes from – his teammates, throughout a match in which a curiously unfamiliar and organised Manchester United side repeatedly targeted his fabled defensive frailties as a potential source of goals. Liverpool should have been forewarned because this wasn’t the first, or indeed second time in the past nine months that United managed to shake off their lethargy and put in an uncharacteristically big performance against their bitter rivals, in the process defying the odds to avoid the shellacking most soothsayers had predicted.

As one of Trent’s tormentors-in-chief alongside Diogo Dalot, one might have expected Bruno Fernandes to be in a chipper mood after the game but the United skipper sounded anything but pleased. “Even today we can’t be happy with a point,” he harrumphed. “We need the points and we could’ve won the game at the end, but it’s a fair result. Both teams played good football. I’m pretty upset. If we show this level at Liverpool, first in the league, why can’t we do this everywhere? It frustrates me.” Not half as much as it frustrated all those £1 punters who had Liverpool as the first team down on their weekend coupon, Bruno.

While Liverpool must now prepare for an energy-sapping eight games in 25 days, Ruben Amorim can look forward to only his second uninterrupted week of training since taking the head coach gig at Old Trafford in mid-November. And if the shape into which he was able to whip his under-performing charges during the first one is anything to go by, it ought to come as no surprise if they slaughter Arsenal in the third round of the FA Cup next weekend. “That should be a big issue for our players that even one person thinks you have the ability but not the character, we have to fight that and change that,” he growled upon being asked if his players had answered questions about their poor mentality. “I think it is really clear. When we are focused, when we fight for every ball, when we suffer and we are tired when the game is finished, we are a good team.” Football Daily shudders to think how fed up Bruno and Ruben will sound when at some point in the not-too-distant future United actually win a big game.

Join Michael Butler from 8pm GMT for some hot minute-by-minute coverage of Wolves 1-2 Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.

It’s not a bad run on paper if you had wins in it” – our friend and yours, Sean Dyche, perhaps hoping that Everton’s new owners can use their imagination and see a few more Ws in this run of results: DDDLL.

Following four consecutive defeats, Manchester United’s elation at avoiding a thrashing and managing a whole point in their game yesterday perfectly illustrates that the Professor of Psychology, Barry Schwartz, was right in his seminal book ‘The Paradox of Choice’ and that the secret to happiness really is low expectations” – Noble Francis.

Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … erm, Noble Francis. Terms and conditions for our competitions – when we have them – can be viewed here.

Wonky lines on football pitch? It happens. Lines obscured by mud? ‘Tis the season. But milky lines? The game has gone! Portuguese second-tier team Oliveirense, rooted to the bottom of the table, tried something different on Sunday in a bit to change their fortunes before their crucial clash with Felgueiras, using cartons of full-fat milk to create a solution. Oliveirense later claimed that although they had paint available, they used whole milk due to the fact that lactose and fat do not dissolve in water, producing a gum that makes the line visible. It didn’t do anyone connected with Oliveirense any good, as they went down 3-0 to their rivals.

Spare a thought for Southampton’s Adam Armstrong. The poor forward had to front up to award a Southampton ‘fan’ a shirt for correctly predicting the Saints’ 5-0 thrashing by Brentford on Saturday.

In need of some new year reading? Then get yourselves over to the Big Website bookshop, where you’ll find a host of great tomes just waiting to be added to your online basket.

West Ham’s technical director, Tim Steidten, is staying away from the training ground after a further breakdown in his relationship with Julen Lopetegui, whose position as manager is under renewed threat after heavy defeats by Liverpool and Manchester City.

Chelsea may recall Trevoh Chalobah from his loan at Crystal Palace to solve their knack-crisis in defence, though the centre-back is understandably reluctant to return after being frozen out last season.

Fulham boss Marco Silva’s mouth is still agape after Darren Bond’s decision not to send off Ipswich defender Leif Davis for dragging down Harry Wilson when he was through on goal in the 2-2 draw. “It’s a clear red card,” Silva scoffed. “The performance from the referee was not at the level the Premier League demands.”

For some reason unbeknownst to Football Daily, Eddie Howe seems to think that no one likes Newcastle. But he doesn’t care: “The perception other teams have of us, it doesn’t really worry me,” he blathered. “It’s all about us making sure we are happy with who we are and how we are performing.”

Pep Guardiola has urged Jack Grealish to wind the clocks back and play like it’s 2023. “Do I want the Jack that won the Treble [with Manchester City]? Yeah,” sniffed Pep.

Big John Coleman has jumped into the vacant Gillingham hotseat after Mark Bonner exited via the door marked Do One on Sunday.

And Robbie Keane has been appointed head coach at – and yes, we’re going to continue with this gag – the club he supported as a boy, Hungarian champions Ferencvaros.

Amad Diallo gave Manchester United’s midfield energy – and the match some very funny moments – in the see-saw draw at Liverpool, writes Barney Ronay.

Ten talking points from the weekend’s Premier League action. Right here!

Claudio Ranieri and Lorenzo Pellegrini had a fine time at the Rome derby. Nicky Bandini reports.

Monaco’s hearts were broken by Ousmane Dembélé’s last-minute winner in the Trophée des Champions but they are going places under Adi Hütter, writes Eric Devin.

And catch up on the latest transfer rumours with John Brewin.

A trip back to January 2008 and – you’ll have to take our picture wires credit’s word for it – John Terry snapping Chelsea teammate Frank Lampard, who seems to be in the process of getting his waxwork done for Madame Tussauds.