If anyone was worried about Conor Bradley’s ability to deal with Kylian Mbappe, the defender hasn’t taken long to put those fears to rest.
Liverpool and Real Madrid locked horns on Wednesday evening in a clash of European titans with 21 Champions League titles combined.
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Undoubtedly a big talent, Bradley’s inexperience was always going to be a concern coming up against a player like Mbappe, who is among the world’s best right now.
Los Blancos supporters would surely have seen Liverpool’s right flank as an area where they could be hurt.
However, Bradley laid down the law very quickly, landing a crunching tackle on Mbappe in the 32nd minute as the Frenchman powered toward the Liverpool goal.
The Northern Ireland international took both ball and man and drew huge applause and cheers from the Liverpool faithful.
It was the sort of tackle that can ignite the crowd on a European night at Anfield and it was also one that got pundits talking.
“It was a wonderful moment,” said former Liverpool and Real Madrid winger Steve McManaman. “Real Madrid suddenly on the break, and Bradley puts in a cruncher against one of the world’s best.
“That’s got the crowd up.”
Ex-Celtic and Blackburn Rovers striker Chris Sutton added (via BBC Sport): “Listen to the noise inside the stadium because of that Conor Bradley challenge. He lunged across and got absolutely everything, Kylian Mbappe and the ball.”
Liverpool certainly enjoyed the better of the first half, with Darwin Nunez wasting a couple of great chances.
However, the game remains fully in the balance at half-time with the score locked at 0-0.
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