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Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has lauded Conor Bradley for his 'outstanding' performance in the Reds' victory against Real Madrid. The Reds emerged as 1-0 victors over Xabi Alonso's squad in their Champions League face-off at Anfield.
An intriguing side story of the match was the return of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Anfield for the first time since his summer move to Madrid. The right-back entered the pitch as a second-half substitute, receiving a chorus of boos and jeers from the crowd.
However, it was fellow academy product Bradley, who has stepped into Alexander-Arnold's shoes this season, that truly shone on the night. The young defender was given the hefty task of silencing both Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr - a challenge he successfully met.
In a post-match chat with Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher on CBS Sports, Slot highlighted how neutralizing the attacking duo was crucial to securing the win. He singled out Bradley for his significant role in achieving this.
"I told them before the game, they have scored 26 goals in La Liga - 24 goal contributions from Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius. So If you want to have any chance of winning this game, you need to control those two and I think we did this outstanding," he stated.
"Talking about individual performances, Connor Bradley was outstanding today, I think against Vinicius."
Bradley's performance was also lauded by the Anfield faithful, who sang "there's only one Conor Bradley" in his honor. This chant could also be interpreted as a pointed message to Alexander-Arnold upon his return to Anfield.
Liverpool found success with its high-press strategy against Madrid. Slot has disclosed that this was one of two potential approaches they considered for Alonso's team.
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"The thing we said was we either press them really high and aggressive or we go to a complete low block, because if you're in between playing against Vinicius and Mbappe - probably one of the players with the best deep runs and incredible pace - it's so hard to control that," he explained.
"So ideally we press them very high but never, ever give up space in behind the last line as, if you do, three or four times, make sure you run back, not forward."
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can read the original story in the Liverpool ECHO by clicking here.
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