Liverpool knew they were in for a real battle on Wednesday evening as Real Madrid came to town.
The European champions have a wonderful recent record against the Reds and would have been hoping to extend that at Anfield.
As expected, the game started as a relatively cagey affair, with Madrid and Liverpool sizing each other up.
Although the Spanish giants had a number of injuries, especially in defensive areas, they still had some superstars on show at Anfield.
Perhaps the biggest of these was Kylian Mbappe, who despite a tricky start to life at the Santiago Bernabeu still garners immense attention wherever he goes.
With Trent Alexander-Arnold only ready for the bench, Conor Bradley had his hands full up against Mbappe on the Liverpool right. But watching on while the two players tried to suss each other out, pundit Chris Sutton admitted his surprise at the ongoing battle.
Liverpool's Northern Irish defender #84 Conor Bradley attempts to pass the ball to Real Madrid's French forward #09 Kylian Mbappe during the UEFA C...
Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images
Chris Sutton admits Kylian Mbappe surprise
Mbappe had long been linked with Liverpool before finally making the switch to Madrid this summer.
But having got his dream move from PSG, things haven’t all been going the Frenchman’s way.
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Nevertheless, his quality is clear and for an inexperienced player like Bradley it was always going to be a test.
However, speaking via BBC Sport during the first-half, Sutton said he was ‘surprised’ at seeing how little Mbappe attacked the Liverpool full-back.
READ MORE: Paul Merson left shocked by what Liverpool did against Real Madrid in the Champions League
“One thing that has surprised me so far this evening is Kylian Mbappe v Conor Bradley,” said the former striker.
“Mbappe hasn’t tried to run Bradley on the outside even once. Bradley has played him well so far.”
The night got worse for Mbappe as he saw a tame penalty saved by Caoimhin Kelleher.
Conor Bradley stands up to Mbappe test
Liverpool fans would rightly have been concerned at seeing Bradley come directly up against an even out of form Mbappe.
The 21-year-old is a real talent, but he has not looked quite the same player so far this season.
That changed on Wednesday night as Bradley showed exactly why he’s so highly rated by the Reds.
It was arguably Bradley’s best appearance in a Liverpool shirt as he not only dealt with Mbappe, but showed up against the rest of Madrid’s star-studded team, too.
One crunching tackle on the World Cup winner had the crowd on its feet and he should arguably have scored with a header in the second-half. A top performance from a real talent.
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