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Liverpool’s season continues to confound. Eighteen games in, and the side that steamrolled its way to the Premier League title remains non-existent.
After a sluggish start to the campaign, Arne Slot had hoped that the seven fixtures between the October and November international breaks would act as a springboard for the campaign, allowing the Reds to regain some semblance of an elite side once again. Yet four losses weren't the antidote Liverpool craved.
If anything, the latest chapter in the Reds’ season has generated more questions than answers. The improved performances against Eintracht Frankfurt, Aston Villa, and Real Madrid show Liverpool can still play with a sense of swagger, but the manner of those lackluster league losses to Brentford and the Manchester pair underlined the ongoing fragilities.
Individually, questions remain over the summer signings. Hopes that Alexander Isak and Jeremie Frimpong would push on in this period were dashed by injury, while Milos Kerkez’s poor form has seen him drop to the bench in the last three. As for Florian Wirtz, he is yet to register a Premier League goal or assist.
Many of last season’s reliable Reds aren’t performing much better. Mohamed Salah and Alexis Mac Allister have shown glimpses of their old selves in recent weeks but remain well off the standards that guided Liverpool to the title, while Ibrahima Konate’s erratic form continues. The Frenchman was abysmal against Manchester City on Sunday.
Liverpool had hoped its star performers would come to the fore in this period. Few have.
However, one problematic area of the pitch appears to have been resolved during the last four weeks.
Liverpool returned from that October break with concerns over who exactly should play at right-back, given neither of the team’s regulars had impressed in the opening weeks of the campaign. That led to Dominik Szoboszlai deputizing on the right side of defense.
But so impressive has the form of Conor Bradley been in recent weeks, it’s difficult to imagine Slot now turning to anyone else in that role.
The Northern Ireland star was among the plethora of players who began the season slowly. He was withdrawn at half-time against Crystal Palace and Chelsea in the final league matches before the international break.
But in the absence of Frimpong, and with it becoming clear that Szoboszlai’s presence in midfield is vital, Bradley has shone. He put in assured displays against Frankfurt and Aston Villa before extinguishing Vinicius Junior’s threat last week at Anfield.
On Sunday, he faced another daunting challenge against one of the Premier League’s most in-form attackers. The Liverpool academy graduate didn’t win every tussle against Jeremy Doku and was booked for a needless lunge in the second half, but he was unquestionably Liverpool’s standout performer.
At the Etihad, no Liverpool player attempted more tackles, made more interceptions or blocks, or won more aerial duels.
Even Pep Guardiola was blown away by the right-back’s display. “Today, Bradley, I'm really impressed with,” the City boss said unprompted.
“[Pep] Lijnders told me he can do everything, and I know how good he was with Vinicius, and he handled it. He was aggressive with and without the ball. We tried to help him, and he played an outstanding game.”
That Bradley earned such plaudits while marking the player of the match underlines just how impressive this display was.
For a player who has spent his whole career in Trent Alexander-Arnold’s shadow, the hope he would thrive this season under the shifting spotlight initially looked forlorn. That perspective has shifted, though.
As Liverpool’s one-time star right-back watched from the bench last week at Anfield, it was impossible to shake the feeling that the apprentice had now reached mastery status.
Even more encouragingly, Bradley has stayed injury-free and has started four games in a row. Excluding the heavily rotated Carabao Cup encounter against Palace, Liverpool’s No. 12 has played at least an hour in six of the club’s last seven games.
Maintaining that, alongside his exemplary performances, will be Bradley’s priorities when the club game returns later after a two-week hiatus. The spell between November and March, when Liverpool plays 20 of its 2025/26 Premier League matches, will define the Reds’ domestic campaign.
Suddenly, Bradley seems like an integral part of those Liverpool plans.
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