Kieran Trippier hopes fine Atletico Madrid form has boosted chances of winning back England place

Kieran Trippier hopes Atletico Madrid’s surge into the Champions League quarter-finals will give him the platform to win back his England starting place.

The former Tottenham right-back has been revitalised by his move to La Liga and he was outstanding in Atletico’s 3-2 win over Liverpool, a result that went a little way to avenging the defeat he suffered at the hands of Jurgen Klopp‘s side in last season’s final.

Tripper provided a reminder of his excellence when whipping balls in from the flank and his performance will have been noted by Gareth Southgate, who is still preparing as normal for their being a European Championships this summer.

The 29-year-old has only started four of England’s last 12 matches and was an unused substitute in last November’s fixtures against Montenegro and Kosovo but he hopes that will change when the squad next convenes.

‘I knew when I left Tottenham and I hadn’t been picked for the Nations League last summer that I had to perform better – I’ve had plenty of chats about that with the staff at England,’ said Trippier. ‘I want to play at the highest level for as long as I can in order to play for England. That’s my objective.

‘There is no bigger moment for me than representing my country. I just need to perform well. I know what I need to do because there are so many right backs know. There are about six right backs – and they are all playing at the highest level. I just need to focus on myself.’

The competition for that position has never been stronger, with Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, Aaron Wan-Bissaka of Manchester United and Manchester City’s Kyle Walker all giving Southgate first class options but Trippier feels the switch to Atletico has paid dividends.

‘I didn’t want to come to the end of my career and regret not going,’ said Trippier. ‘It is a big change, different culture, different types of football, but I am loving every minute of it and hopefully my performances for Atletico can keep me in the England squad.

‘It is a huge achievement to beat Liverpool. You have seen how difficult they have made it for teams at Anfield. We knew it was going to be difficult but we believed as a team. We knew we wouldn’t get many chances and when you come here you need to be clinical. We put our chances away.’