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Liverpool has just wrapped up a punishing schedule of seven matches in 21 days, with three victories and four losses. The Reds now face a similar run after the year's final international break, although its upcoming opponents should theoretically be less formidable than the reigning Premier League champions.
Currently, Liverpool is positioned eighth in both the Premier League and Champions League standings, having been knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Crystal Palace. Their form has been inconsistent, and manager Arne Slot and his squad have faced severe criticism from pundits, especially following Sunday's crushing 3-0 defeat at Manchester City.
Despite the bitter loss, the lack of discussion around Liverpool's right-back - previously identified as a weak spot earlier in the season - is testament to the consistent performances Conor Bradley has delivered over the past three matches.
It's telling that the man of the match in last Tuesday's 1-0 triumph over Real Madrid at Anfield was the same as in the 2-0 home victory against the same team last season.
The outcome was also identical: a clean sheet and a commanding win against Europe's most successful champions.
Bradley's performance against Madrid managed to quell much of the criticism that has been directed at him this season, perhaps somewhat unjustly. Despite Trent Alexander-Arnold's occasional defensive lapses, he had years to forge partnerships with his fellow defenders and his talent was undeniable.
The former vice-captain left big boots to fill, and Bradley's unfortunate injury history has sometimes hindered his attempts to secure the position.
However, his performance against Man City received a less favourable response. Bradley was given a tough time by Jeremy Doku for 74 minutes.
The Belgian put on an impressive display, winning a penalty at 0-0 that was saved by Giorgi Mamardashvili and scoring the third goal to seal the victory.
City were set up to isolate Bradley, with Doku's direct dribbling posing a constant threat - no player was dribbled past more than the Ulsterman (3). With such focus on his position, it's understandable that the youngster would face criticism for not meeting the standard he set for himself earlier in the week.
The broader issue, however, was that Bradley's teammates did not do enough to support him. Ryan Gravenberch was unusually ineffective, while Bradley could rightly question why he didn't receive the same defensive support from Mohamed Salah that the Egyptian provided against Madrid.
Most significantly, Ibrahima Konaté struggled against City. When the Frenchman is in top form, as he demonstrated against Madrid, he ranks amongst the finest centre-backs in global football; however, when he's having an off day, he spreads nervousness throughout the defensive line.
This was perfectly illustrated by the incident leading to City's penalty: Bradley, having positioned his body between Doku and the ball, was guiding it back towards the goalkeeper before Konaté intervened in a situation where his involvement wasn't required. His botched clearance bounced directly back off Doku's legs, who subsequently fell under a challenge from Mamardashvili.
Pep Guardiola had pinpointed Liverpool's right flank as a potential route to victory prior to the match. During his post-match press conference, he explained: "It was more difficult for Rayan [Cherki] because the space was more in the left side not in the right side today [with] the way they defend."
Xabi Alonso employed the same strategy in midweek, attempting to lure Konaté away from the centre by leaving Bradley isolated in one-on-one situations. Despite Vinicius Jr's undeniable talent, few players possess superior dribbling skills to Doku, and Liverpool failed to offer adequate protection on that flank.
Although Bradley endured a challenging afternoon without proper assistance from his colleagues, his individual display remained largely consistent with his performance against Madrid. According to FotMob, Bradley was statistically Liverpool's standout performer against City.
This appears somewhat skewed by the sheer number of interventions he was called upon to execute, claiming the most duels (seven) with only Dominik Szoboszlai contributing more defensively than Bradley's eight efforts.
Nevertheless, he completed three interceptions - more than any other player from either team - and by emerging victorious in 56% of his ground duels, he performed considerably better than Liverpool's collective average of 39%.
Guardiola was lavish in his acclaim for Bradley's display, expressing that his reaction was one of being "really, really impressed."
Bradley has a chance to continue his personal streak of form with World Cup qualifying matches against Slovakia on Friday night and Luxembourg on Monday night. Northern Ireland are virtually assured a play-off spot through a Nations League position, and could secure one via their qualifying group with two victories during the break.
Bradley netted against Luxembourg last year, and captains his international team.
Upon his return, Bradley will face competition from a newly recovered Jeremie Frimpong, although the Dutch player will be gradually reintroduced following consecutive hamstring injuries. Bradley's probable one-match bans for accumulated bookings in the Premier League and Champions League could provide Frimpong with an opportunity to regain match fitness.
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