EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Trent Alexander-Arnold said former Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota “was with me today” after admitting that that he found it “difficult” to play in Real Madrid’s FIFA Club World Cup quarterfinal win against Borussia Dortmund in New Jersey.

Jota, 28, was killed in a car crash alongside his brother André Silva in the early hours of Thursday and the pair’s funeral on Saturday was attended by several Liverpool and Portugal players, including Rúben Neves and João Cancelo, who both played in Al Hilal’s Club World Cup defeat against Fluminense in the United States on Friday.

Alexander-Arnold played alongside Jota for years at Anfield and was a close friend of the former Wolverhampton Wanderers player. And after helping Real to victory against Dortmund, in a match where Kylian Mbappé marked his goal with a personal gesture towards Jota, Alexander-Arnold said he found it tough to play the game.

“I want to my send condolences and my thoughts and prayers to a close friend of mine,” Alexander-Arnold told DAZN. “I had five years sharing a dressing-room with him [Jota] and it goes without saying that he will never be forgotten by anyone. He will live long in our memories.

“But at the end of the day, I still had a job to do today. I had to go out there and perform for the team, help us win the game, no matter how difficult it was and how difficult it is.

“As hard as it was, I had to push it to the back of my mind and focus on my job and my role. I tried to do as best as I could.

“It was difficult, I’m not going to lie about that, but I have done it in honour of my close friend

“I’m sure he would have wanted me to do that and I’m sure we would have had a laugh and a joke about my assist as well, so yes, it was in some way in memory of him.

“He was there with me in some way, I’m sure.”

Alexander-Arnold said that the reaction across football has heartened him in the days since Jota and his brother lost their lives.

“It’s been very difficult for everyone that knew him, not just me and his teammates, friends or family, but the footballing world,” he said. “Some things are bigger than the game.

“It’s been difficult, but also very heart-warming to see the footballing world unite and come together to show their love and support for his family and his brother for what must be mind-blowingly hard times for his family.

“I’ve been around his family, his brother, his amazing wife and amazing three children, so it’s truly heart-breaking.

“It’s something you would never expect. He was a very close friend, somebody who lit up a room.”