Conor Bradley bullies Kylian Mbappe in statement Liverpool performance to put Trent Alexander-Arnold on notice

Chris

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Bradley has more than proven that he has what it takes to start

Stuart Pearce has joked that Trent Alexander-Arnold will “be asking for a new contract” after Conor Bradley's performance against Real Madrid.

Current first-choice right-back Alexander-Arnold has been heavily linked with signing for Los Blancos, having joined the Reds' academy in the final year of his contract.

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Bradley has more than proven that he has what it takes to startPhoto credit: Getty

However, it was his young deputy Bradley who may have stunned his admirers on Wednesday.

talkSPORT's match commentator, former England defender Pearce, said live from Anfield: “With Trent Alexander-Arnold sitting on the bench at the moment he must be thinking to himself, I could just knock on the manager's door and say please .”, do you have a contract for me?

“Because you have someone tonight who was absolutely outstanding, he was brilliant.”

“He’s been treated [Kylian] Mbappe, he came forward, he prepared goals, he gave everything.”

As well as holding and world champion Mbappe calmly, the 21-year-old's statistics from the game also speak volumes.

The former Bolton loanee won more possessions (9), more tackles (8), more fouls (3), scored the most tackles (4) and the most assists (1) of any other player on the pitch.

No Champions League player has scored higher in these categories in a game this season.

His tough challenge against Mbappé quickly went viral on social media.

Fans were thrilled with his performance, with one writing on X: “Conor Bradley came here tonight and told Trent he should go to Madrid.”

Another wrote: “Mbappe has gone from a life in Monaco to a life in Paris to a life in Madrid and now in Conor Bradley's pocket.”

He kept Mbappé calm with an impressive performance at Anfield

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He kept Mbappé calm with an impressive performance at AnfieldPhoto credit: Getty

A third said: “Conor Bradley needs to calm it down. Real Madrid will leave Anfield and want to sign him.

Bradley went down with five minutes left as the medical team came by to tend to him.

Joe Gomez quickly replaced him and the youngster received a warm welcome from his manager Arne Slot.

Speaking to TNT Sports, Rio asked Ferdinand Slot how impressed he was with the club's young players this season and how important they are to the team.

He then said, “They are. People always say, and I have to agree with them, that when you go through the academy you know what it means to the fans, even more than those who come from other countries.”

“It is something special for the fans, but also for the club, that they are playing on this stage against the reigning champions and everyone is doing so well.”

Bradley made his Liverpool debut in 2021 but found himself up against one of the Champions League's best

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Bradley made his Liverpool debut in 2021 but found himself up against one of the Champions League's bestPhoto credit: AFP

“We are talking about Caoimhin [Kelleher]but you will also agree with me that Conor [Bradley] was really strong and Curtis [Jones] was really strong too.

“It's nice for everyone to see, but it's not the way I choose my players or my team, they're also cheap options, which also helps with all these contract situations we have!”

Bradley has made 11 appearances for the club this season.

His playing time was largely limited to coming on as a substitute; in total he played 424 minutes.

Bradley was impressive in the Champions League

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Bradley was impressive in the Champions League

He was a starter in both of Liverpool's Carabao Cup victories, the 3-2 win against Southampton last weekend and the Champions League clash on Wednesday.

In total, Bradley has already played 39 games for the Reds, scoring one goal and picking up seven assists.

After his role from the quarter-finals onwards, he also won the Carabao Cup last season.

Just two years ago Bradley was playing on loan for Bolton, now he's playing in the Champions League.

If Liverpool let Mo Salah leave for free, it will be like Barcelona letting Messi go.

Alexander-Arnold's illustrious career at Anfield included winning the Champions League and the Premier League.

He remained on the bench as Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo led Liverpool to a 2-0 win, while Mbappe and Mohamed Salah both missed penalties.

But should the Reds star move to Madrid this summer, Bradley's performance on Wednesday suggests Slot has an excellent successor waiting in the wings.

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