8 duels won: Virgil van Dijk lauds Liverpool teammate who was ‘outstanding’ against Real Madrid | OneFootball

Virgil van Dijk has singled out one Liverpool teammate for praise after an ‘outstanding’ performance in the win over Real Madrid on Tuesday night.

Much of the pre-game discussion was centred around the return of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Anfield, but it was the name of a different right-back who was on many people’s lips after the match, with Conor Bradley excelling against Los Blancos.

Just as he did to Kylian Mbappe 12 months ago, the Northern Ireland international brilliantly shacked Vinicius Junior, with one particularly superb tackle in the closing stages as the Reds sought to keep hold of their 1-0 lead.

Van Dijk praises ‘outstanding’ Bradley

When speaking to reporters after the win, Van Dijk was asked about the 22-year-old’s performance, and the captain issued a firm seal of approval.

The Dutchman said of Bradley: “Very good, outstanding. Last year he unfortunately got injured in this game [the 2-0 win over Real Madrid in November 2024], but tonight he held his own against one of the best wingers in recent times.

“Now he’s played two good games, like the rest of the team, and now it’s recovery and onto the next [match].”

(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Bradley completely nullified Vinicius last night

Bradley did more than just ‘hold his own’ against Vinicius last night – he absolutely pocketed the Real Madrid winger, as Jeremie Frimpong was all too happy to point out on social media!

As per Sofascore, the Liverpool right-back won eight duels (second-most of any Reds player), completed three of his four attempted dribbles, made three tackles and two clearances, and played one key pass.

Meanwhile, the Brazilian forward failed to record a single shot or complete any dribbles in 90 minutes on the pitch, and he was reduced to an embarrassing attempt to win a penalty in the first half with a pathetic display of play-acting which was never going to fool referee Istvan Kovacs.

A lack of stability at right-back had been a contributing factor in LFC’s struggles in recent weeks (injuries to Frimpong haven’t helped), but Bradley’s excellent displays against Aston Villa and Real Madrid indicate that it’s no longer a problem position in Arne Slot’s side.

With Van Dijk and the rest of the defence also rock-solid over the past few days, there’s genuine encouragement that Liverpool are addressing the alarming porosity which had threatened to destroy their season. Let’s hope that continues in forthcoming matches.

You can watch Van Dijk’s post-match thoughts in full below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube: