Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, applauds the fans after the Premier League match between Liverpool and Aston Villa at Anfield on November 01, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)placeholder image
Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, applauds the fans after the Premier League match between Liverpool and Aston Villa at Anfield on November 01, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images) | Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Liverpool earned a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa to bounce back to winning ways in the Premier League.
Arne Slot heaped praise on Conor Bradley’s performance as Liverpool put paid to their woeful run of form.
The Reds earned a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa at Anfield, which ended a run of four successive Premier League defeats. Liverpool were much improved in the encounter, with Mo Salah netting his 250th goal for the club in first-half stoppage-time before Ryan Gravenberch doubled the advantage after the break.
Right-back has proved somewhat of a problem position during this season’s title defence following the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid. Bradley served as understudy to Alexander-Arnold for the past two campaigns but has been vying with summer signing Jeremie Frimpong to be first choice in the role.
Both have had injury issues, though, with Frimpong currently sidelined while Dominik Szoboszlai has been used as a makeshift option. But Bradley has started to build rhythm and build a rapport with Salah as he delivered a tenacious display against Villa.
What’s been said
Liverpool head coach Slot said at his pre-match press conference: “The more players play together, the better it will be. You cannot compare Trent [Alexander-Arnold] with Conor. But Conor played an outstanding game, like many others. I think the team performance is what made the difference today.
“Everyone was really fighting to get that win over the line, throwing themselves in front of shots, sprinting back when needed, being ready for a high press. So, there were a lot of positives to take – also from individual performances, like Conor's. The challenge for him now is to make himself ready, because he's not been used to 90 minutes a lot this season and after two days of rest the next one is coming up. So, we have to think about that as well. But for now, your question was, 'Did he play well?' Yes, he played well today.”
Salah landmark
Salah became only the third player in Liverpool history to reach 250 goals. He was giving a helping hand by Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez, who played a poor pass that gifted Salah a chance and he applied a right-footed finish.
The Egyptian has been out of sorts in recent weeks having bagged 33 times last term. But Slot believes Salah’s performance against Villa was much more like his usual self.
“That's almost unbelievable if you score 250 goals for one club,” said Slot. “If you score 250 goals, it's already unbelievable – let alone for one club. You don't see this that much in football anymore. And I think apart from the goal he scored tonight, he had a very good performance. Because when we had to play long, we played mainly long towards him and he could hold the ball, so because of that the rest of the team could come to him and we could keep playing.
“And what I also liked was that he didn't only do his offensive work really well, but he helped the team out defensively as well. I think after we scored the 1-0, he was helping Virgil [van Dijk], I think, somewhere around the halfway line. This combination of things led to the fact that I liked his performance tonight. And, of course, it's special for him to score his 250th. For him to score is not even that special, because that's what we also know he will always do.”
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