Arne Slot praises 'outstanding' Liverpool star after Real Madrid Champions League win

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·4. November 2025

Arne Slot praises 'outstanding' Liverpool star after Real Madrid Champions League win

Conor Bradley was singled out for high praise by Liverpool’s manager, on the night when Trent Alexander-Arnold returned to Anfield

Conor Bradley was hailed by Liverpool boss Arne Slot for an “outstanding” performance in the Reds’ Champions League victory over Real Madrid, having effectively pocketed Vinicius Jr.

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After going viral online for his tackle on Kylian Mbappe in this fixture last season, the Northern Irish full-back was handed the seemingly tricky task of keeping another pacey Los Blancos star quiet at Anfield on Tuesday.

Vini Jr may have drawn blanks in each of his European outings so far this term but he boasts nine direct goal involvements from 11 appearances in La Liga, and threatened to cause headaches for a Liverpool backline that has been uncharacteristically leaky for much of the season so far.

Even more pressure was lumped in Bradley’s shoulders given this midweek match marked the first return of former Reds right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold to Merseyside since his departure to the Bernabeu this summer.

Many Liverpool fans have made their feelings on Trent known, but the position has been a notable weak point in Slot’s defence since he left with both Bradley and currently injured summer signing Jeremie Frimpong coming in and out of the XI as they struggle for form; utility man Dominik Szoboszlai has even been turned to as a solution at times.

But following the setback suffered by Frimpong against Eintracht Frankfurt two weeks ago, Bradley has been given two consecutive starts in the Premier League, adding to his assist away to Brentford with a clean sheet against Aston Villa last Saturday.

And with Szoboszlai put to considerably better use as a No10, the 22-year-old was then given his third straight run-out on a huge UCL night.

Rewarding his manager’s faith, Bradley looked comfortable right from the opening exchanges and halted Vinicius’s mazey runs with commanding tackles throughout the night. A foray forward of his own even led to the Brazilian being shown an early yellow card for bringing him down in frustration.

Speaking after full-time, Slot was pointedly glowing in his praise of his right-back’s performance.

Arne Slot was pleased with Liverpool’s right-back

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Noting that “the whole team defended really well in the high press, in the low block”, Slot said of Bradley specifically: “Conor was outstanding.”

The Dutchman added: “To be against Vinicius one-on-one so many times is not for everyone to play a game like this, but [Bradley] did outstanding today."

Off the back of that showing, Bradley will almost certainly line up on the right side of Slot’s defence again on Sunday, when Liverpool travel to the Etihad to take on Manchester City.