Conor Bradley sends Trent Alexander-Arnold message on Liverpool future as Kylian Mbappe snubbed out
Kylian Mbappe should have done the decent thing and asked Liverpool‘s Conor Bradley for his shirt at the final whistle.
Because in years to come, the chances are it will be a memento of one of the greatest full backs of a generation. The potential of Bradley is no secret to those at Anfield.
But in snubbing out one of the game’s most destructive talents in Mbappe on Wednesday night, Bradley announced himself to the world. At the age of 25, Mbappe already has a CV to die for.
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The France legend has won one World Cup, scored a hat-trick in another World Cup final and has set more ridiculous scoring records than people manage to remember. In recent times, the prospect of stopping him has left defensive opponents beaten before a ball has been kicked.
But the head of this great of the game was so scrambled by the time he stepped forward to take a penalty which would have got Real back into the game, he never looked like converting it.
(Image: Jose Hernandez/Getty Images)
Keeping Mbappe in his pocket suggests Bradley is destined for greatness of his own. In Liverpool’s hugely impressive 2-0 win in the Champions League, Bradley epitomised all the qualities Arne Slot‘s side needed to beat the Spanish giants for the first time since 2009.
The 21-year-old Irishman took out Mbappe with a thumping tackle before half time as he closed in on goal. Mbappe wasn’t interested after that.
It brought the house down, not to mention Mbappe himself. It set the tone and gave Liverpool the confidence to go on and win the game.
(Image: Getty Images)
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Bradley came close to scoring himself, and had a hand in the opening goal for Alexis Mac Allister. Looking on with admiration was Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The England full back, who is close friends with Jude Bellingham, has been tipped to join Real next summer. When Real come calling, turning them down is almost impossible to do.
But this week’s stellar performance from Bradley might well have made up Alexander-Arnold’s mind once and for all. Because if Bradley keeps producing displays of such maturity and excellence, it’s difficult to see how Alexander-Arnold still has a future at Anfield.
