Liverpool FC news roundup: Bradley and Konate injury SCARES, Madrid DOMINATED | OneFootball

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Arne Slot’s willingness to introduce youth players into first-team action has been heavily evidenced so far this season and it’s not stopping any time soon.

A myriad of youth players have also been spotted training with the first-team squad at various points this season.

And another exciting youngster was spotted training with the first team ahead of this week’s seismic Champions League clash against Real Madrid.

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The Trent Alexander-Arnold contract saga has been one of the most headache-inducing - and, of course, entertaining - storylines of Liverpool’s entire season so far.

But with Real Madrid circling, all the leverage is in Trent’s court. He does, unfortunately, have to weigh up all options and get the best possible deal for himself.

But that doesn’t mean he can’t have a bit of fun with it.

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The fundamental aim of every season is to secure Champions League qualification by finishing in the top four.

In the 2022/23 campaign, Liverpool came up short, finishing the season in fifth place after a perturbed season where they dropped points in exactly half of their 38 Premier League games. They subsequently had to feature in the Europa League for the following season.

Liverpool finished the 2023/24 campaign by also falling short in the Premier League title race with Arsenal and Manchester City, but the Reds' comfortable third-place finish meant that Champions League football would be returning to Anfield.

Now, in a recent report from OffThePitch, the impact of Liverpool's brief absence from the Champions League has been revealed and the financial picture really isn't a pretty sight.

© IMAGO - Conor Bradley

Liverpool's night was all but perfect against Real Madrid on Wednesday night except for a major blow to Conor Bradley.

The Northern Irishman delivered a stunning performance, keeping Kylian Mbappe in his pocket for most of the night.

Bradley also provided the crucial assist for Alexis Mac Allister's opener and was a lively threat going forward.

Once and for all proving he can be an astute back-up solution in the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold.

However, right towards the end of the game he went down with what seemed like a hamstring issue and Liverpool were forced to take him off the pitch. Joe Gomez came in to replace Bradley.

© IMAGO - Virgil van Dijk Ibrahima Konate Diogo Jota Liverpool 2024-25

Madrid deliver cruel BLOW

© IMAGO - Rio Ngumoha Liverpool 2024-25

Ahead of the Champions League game at Anfield, the focus was on Liverpool's young U19 side, who took on Real Madrid as the curtain raiser for the match in the evening, and things did not go entirely according to plan.

Unlike Liverpool's first team, the U19 side has struggled to get going in the UEFA Youth League, which has a slightly different but also similar system to the new Champions League format.

The only exception being that teams only play six rather than eight matches. This means, this was Liverpool's penultimate game of this round of the competition.

A win at home would have guaranteed the young Reds with all certainty to qualify to the next round.

And Liverpool lined up with a strong outfit that included Rio Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni, both of whom are regularly training with the first team.

But even they were not able to stop or prevent Real Madrid causing an upset at Kirkby.

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