Jose Mourinho has insisted that Trent Alexander-Arnold is not a natural central midfielder, despite handing the England international a starting berth in the middle of the park during Real Madrid's 2-1 Champions League victory over Inter.

With Eduardo Camavinga, Arda Guler, and Bernardo Silva all unavailable due to suspension, Mourinho opted to pair Alexander-Arnold alongside Federico Valverde in the engine room at the Santiago Bernabeu. Goals from Kylian Mbappe and Valverde ensured Los Blancos kicked off their European campaign with maximum points against the Serie A giants.

Alexander-Arnold was directly involved in Madrid's 14th-minute opener, pressing his former Liverpool team-mate Curtis Jones to force an errant pass towards Yann Bisseck that led to Mbappe finding the net. The 25-year-old also delivered a team-high four crosses and created two scoring opportunities, a tally surpassed only by Brahim Diaz (four).

Mourinho evaluates tactical display

Despite Alexander-Arnold's contributions, his passing accuracy of 83.3% was among the lowest outfield metrics for Madrid on the night, trailing only Dean Huijsen (82.1%) and Ibrahima Konate (81.3%). Following the final whistle, Mourinho offered a frank assessment of the player's positioning.

"He has played in midfield with England and Liverpool, but he is not a midfielder," Mourinho stated. "He has played very well. He interpreted what he needed to really well, tactically. Both him and Valverde have worked very well at this level."

Challenges in securing starting berth

Since his move from Anfield to the Spanish capital last year, Alexander-Arnold has struggled to cement a permanent place in the starting XI. He has started 29 of his 39 appearances across all competitions, registering seven assists.

Although the departure of long-serving right-back Dani Carvajal at the end of last season appeared to clear a pathway for regular starts, Real Madrid moved to sign Dutch international Denzel Dumfries from Inter, with Dumfries starting all four competitive fixtures so far this season.

"It's hard for Trent," Mourinho added. "I appreciate the effort, but with his characteristics, the specificity needed to play full-back or central midfield, it's completely different physically. He had some losses of the ball, because it's not the same as playing with the whole field in front of you, and playing with half the field behind you. He's played there a few times with Liverpool and the national team, but it's completely different. He didn't have more to give."