Arne Slot saluted the performance of Conor Bradley after Liverpool’s victory over Real Madrid.
The 21-year-old delivered an all-action display as the Reds earned a 2-0 win at Anfield to continue their 100 per cent record in this season’s Champions League. With Trent Alexander-Arnold only fit enough to feature on the bench after a hamstring injury, Bradley started at right-back and had the task of marking arguably the world’s best player in Kylian Mbappe.
Bradley stood up to the task emphatically, though, as he thundered into a first-half tackle on Mbappe to curtail a Madrid counter-attack. Then in the second period, Bradley saw a header saved by visiting goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois before assisting Alexis Mac Allister’s opening goal.It was a stellar evening for Liverpool’s academy, with Caoimhin Kelleher saving Kylian Mbappe’s penalty to keep the lead before Cody Gakpo came off the bench to double the advantage. Fellow youth product Curtis Jones also impressed in midfield.
Head coach Slot said: “I think it’s nice for him, nice for his family, nice for us but it’s also very nice for the Academy, that a player that comes through the ranks at the Academy does so well. And not only him – Caoimh was outstanding today, Curtis [Jones] was outstanding today.
“Probably all of them were outstanding but to have three Academy players in your team doing so well is also a big compliment for the Academy this club has. And Conor did very well. But I’m totally not surprised by him doing so well because he showed this already last season and showed this in this season in training sessions and in games as well. So, very nice for him.”
