James Maddison reveals the truth behind that Trent Alexander-Arnold joke

James Maddison has used the international break to poke fun at his England teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold over the controversy surrounding Tottenham’s recent win over Liverpool, but insists it was all a light-hearted joke.

Spurs have enjoyed an incredible start to the new season, and James Maddison has been at the heart of everything good the side have done so far. The playmaker has five assists and two goals to his name already in the early stages of his Tottenham career (Transfermarkt).

One of those assists came in the recent 2-1 win over Liverpool, when he played in his Spurs captain Heung-min Son in the first half.

Liverpool would equalise not long after, but fell to defeat in the final moments after Pedro Porro drilled in a cross which Joel Matip put into his own net in injury time.

The game was shrouded in controversy as Liverpool had a goal incorrectly disallowed for offside, and also had Diogo Jota sent off for two very soft yellow cards. The issues led Jurgen Klopp to suggest the game should be replayed (Guardian).

Maddison says the idea of a replay is in the past

With Maddison on international duty with the England squad, he took the opportunity to share a little joke on his Instagram. Maddison is pictured talking to Trent Alexander-Arnold, and captioned the post: “Still asking for a replay.”

Now, speaking to talkSPORT, the 26-year-old explained what was really going on: “The conversation wasn’t anything to do with that. Just having a bit of banter with Trent.

“Trent is a good friend of mine, we get on really well. Tongue-in-cheek banter. That game is in the past, we were just having a little mess around.”

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I was worried for a moment that we might have to replay that game against Liverpool, but the league simply can’t allow it to happen as it would set such a dangerous precedent. Mistakes happen, it’s in the past now as Madders says, and it’s good that he can laugh about it with Trent.