Liverpool Thriving on Pressure of Quadruple Chase, Says Alexander-Arnold

02 May 2022, United Kingdom, Liverpool: Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold (R) and goalkeeper Alisson take part in a training session at the AXA Training Centre ahead of Tuesday's UEFA Champions League semifinal second leg match against Villarreal. (dpa)
02 May 2022, United Kingdom, Liverpool: Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold (R) and goalkeeper Alisson take part in a training session at the AXA Training Centre ahead of Tuesday's UEFA Champions League semifinal second leg match against Villarreal. (dpa)
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Liverpool Thriving on Pressure of Quadruple Chase, Says Alexander-Arnold

02 May 2022, United Kingdom, Liverpool: Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold (R) and goalkeeper Alisson take part in a training session at the AXA Training Centre ahead of Tuesday's UEFA Champions League semifinal second leg match against Villarreal. (dpa)
02 May 2022, United Kingdom, Liverpool: Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold (R) and goalkeeper Alisson take part in a training session at the AXA Training Centre ahead of Tuesday's UEFA Champions League semifinal second leg match against Villarreal. (dpa)

Liverpool are thriving on the pressure of playing for an unprecedented quadruple and every game feels like a final now, defender Trent Alexander-Arnold said ahead of Tuesday's Champions League semi-final second leg at Villarreal.

Liverpool hold a 2-0 lead from the first leg as they target a third final in five years in Europe's elite club competition.

The English League Cup winners are also a point behind Premier League leaders Manchester City and have reached the FA Cup final, where they take on Chelsea this month.

"To be honest, I feel like we thrive off it (the pressure)," Alexander-Arnold told reporters. "I've said it before, I feel this is always the best time in the season for us lads. Every game is a final, we're pushing on all three fronts now.

"These are the exciting games, you want to be playing in these, you want everything on the line and you want every game to feel like you have to win it ... the lads feel the same way.

"It's exciting, the buzz you get from scoring in the game and you know it's vitally important."

The 23-year-old right back had said earlier this season that Liverpool must aim for a minimum of one trophy per year but he has revised that target.

"I did say one trophy a season minimum and that's probably in a season that's not one of our best. But we're in fine form, we've played outstanding all season, we've been able to win in different ways," Alexander-Arnold said.

"Come the end of May, hopefully we'll be in the history books again."



Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Saudi Team Highlights Cultural Heritage

Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
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Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Saudi Team Highlights Cultural Heritage

Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and his deputy, Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz, attended the opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games in Paris.

Held outside the traditional stadiums for the first time in history, the ceremony featured a parade of the 206 participating countries on 100 boats traveling approximately 6 kilometers along the Seine River.

The Saudi show jumping team player, Ramzy Al-Duhami, and his colleague, the Saudi Taekwondo champion Dunya Aboutaleb, raised the Saudi flag at the opening of the world’s largest sporting event.

Al-Duhami expressed his pride in raising the Kingdom’s flag alongside his teammate, noting that it was a dream for any Saudi citizen. He wished success for the Saudi athletes in representing Saudi sports with distinction.

Aboutaleb, in turn, said he was honored to carry the Kingdom’s flag at the Olympic Games, stating: “I aspire to perform at a level that reflects the support and attention given to sports in the Kingdom.”

The Saudi athletes’ uniform was admired by the international media and the audience, who applauded the players the moment their boat appeared on the Seine River.

The designs for the opening ceremony were chosen through a national competition organized by the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, with the participation of designers from across the Kingdom.

Out of 128 competing designers, the chosen uniform by Saudi designer Alia Al-Salmi featured traditional men’s thobes and bishts and brightly patterned thobe al-nashal for women, symbolizing the athletes’ pride in their homeland and cultural roots.

Mashael Al-Ayed, 17, will be the first Saudi athlete to compete, taking to the pool for the 200 meters freestyle swimming event on July 28. Al-Ayed is the first female swimmer to represent Saudi Arabia at the Olympics.