Conor Bradley hadn’t even played in the Premier League at the start of 2024, but less than 12 months later he’s taking on Kylian Mbappe in the Champions League and hasn’t looked one bit overawed.
The Northern Ireland youngster has started for the Reds against Real Madrid tonight as Trent Alexander-Arnold isn’t yet fit enough to play from the first whistle, and in the first half the 21-year-old made light of the vice-captain’s absence.
On his first start in Europe’s premier club competition, the right-back has been tasked with shackling the man who scored a hat-trick for France in the World Cup final two years ago, and he’s proving that he’s up to the challenge!
Bradley floors Mbappe with crunching challenge
Just after the half-hour mark at Anfield, Real Madrid launched a swift counterattack from a Liverpool set piece and were threatening when the ball was played in behind to Mbappe, who was surging towards it at full pace.
However, the Frenchman was stopped in his tracks by a perfectly-timed tackle from Bradley, who brought the 25-year-old crashing to the turf with a robust but fair challenge which had the home fans in the stadium roaring deafening approval.
Speaking on co-commentary for TNT Sports, Steve McManaman described it as a ‘wonderful moment’ which ‘got the crowd up’.
Conor Bradley floors Kylian Mbappe with a crunching challenge
(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Bradley more than a match for Mbappe
The absence of Trent may have been portrayed in a wider sense as a potential avenue for Real Madrid to exploit, particularly with Mbappe on that flank, but Liverpool fans would’ve felt confident in the Northern Ireland youngster to step up in his team’s hour of need.
The 21-year-old has taken to the Reds’ first team like a duck to water over the past few months, and in the opening 45 minutes at Anfield he’s been more than a match for the ex-Paris Saint Germain superstar.
As per Sofascore, Bradley won that crunching tackle on the Frenchman and also made one clearance, along with winning one duel and completing 25 of his 29 passes (86%).
If Mbappe thought he’d be in for an easy night against a relatively inexperienced right-back, he now knows that isn’t the case!
You can view Bradley’s challenge on Mbappe below, via @footballontnt on X:
One of the best tackles you'll see from Conor Bradley on Kylian Mbappé ⛔ pic.twitter.com/Ucn29ejXPn
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 27, 2024