Former Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold is still facing a battle to land a position in the Real Madrid team, and his task may have become tougher

If it was tough for Trent Alexander-Arnold to break into the Real Madrid team with one player for competition at right-back, it won't be much easier now that there are two options at Jose Mourinho's disposal.

The former Liverpool star was snubbed once again by the manager, not featuring in the starting lineup or from the bench as a substitute for the side's latest La Liga clash with Sevilla.

It was a match that Los Blancos went on to win 4-1, with a Kylian Mbappe brace backed up by goals from Arda Guler and Yan Diomande to seal an important and much-needed win.

While Alexander-Arnold has had his challenges at right-back under the returning manager, those battles have been with summer signing Denzel Dumfries up until this point.

However, the landscape has shifted once again, as Federico Valverde has emerged as a surprise right-back option for Real Madrid in recent days.

The Uruguayan international was handed a place there late in the game for Los Blancos against AS Roma, as one of several changes as his team fought back to win 4-3 against the Serie A outfit.

Valverde impressed there and made it clear in his post-match interview that it was a position that he was willing to play if Mourinho needed him to feature there at any point.

It was already enough of a problem for Alexander-Arnold having Dumfries ahead of him, but to have another technically impressive star feature at right-back has only added another dimension to the problem.

Mourinho doubled down on that decision by starting Valverde there against Sevilla in the following La Liga match, giving the star 84 minutes to feature there before bringing him off.

While he could have given Alexander-Arnold or Dumfries the closing moments there, the manager instead gave the final few minutes to Eder Militao, who was returning from injury and may have needed that time to help his recovery.

It remains to be seen what this means for the former Liverpool star in the grand scheme of things, with there set to be more opportunities for minutes in the weeks ahead, as the fixture schedule continues to ramp up.

Los Blancos have a huge week ahead, with RB Leipzig next in the Champions League, before attention switches to El Clásico next Sunday, which could have huge implications for the title race.

Alexander-Arnold will be hoping to make a positive impact in those games and beyond, but the challenges continue to ramp up for him in his preferred position.