
Jurgen Klopp has showered heaps of praise on Liverpool youngster Conor Bradley who started the game against Union Saint-Gilloise on Thursday (14 December).
Liverpool had already qualified for the knock-out rounds in the Europa League, and the result of this game was inconsequential. It allowed Jurgen Klopp to rotate the squad and give chances to young players including Bradley.
The 20-year-old played the entire game, and Klopp has hailed the youngster as a “top player”. He says Bradley is “outstanding” and will be a real solution for the club at right-back.
It wasn’t an easy game for him, and Liverpool were ordinary in the first half. Klopp has rightly said that he will not judge a player, especially a young talent, based on one game, as he has seen how good he is in training.
“He will be, he will be. Conor is a top player, I like him a lot,” said Klopp when asked if Conor can be a real solution at right back.
“His attitude is outstanding, he’s a real fighter. And how everybody in the first half was, we were struggling, we were struggling, we lost balls in the wrong moments and it’s really difficult. I would never judge a player after a game like this and tell, ‘OK, he’s obviously not good enough’ or whatever.
“I know how good they are because I see them every day in training and tonight is an important experience. I don’t think any career ever started without these kind of games where you have to struggle, where you have to fight through, where you have to survive – and Conor, especially, did.”
Moving on
The Reds lost 2-1 on the night away in Belgium. The home side took the lead through Mohamed Amoura. A few minutes later, young centre-back Jarell Quansah equalised with a powerful effort from inside the penalty box to score his first goal for the Reds.
However, Cameron Puertas scored for the home side and it eventually proved to be the winning goal.
Liverpool have won Group E with 12 points from their six games, and they will not have to focus on Europe until March, which means they can properly concentrate on the domestic front.
The next three games are vital for the Reds. They face Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday, West Ham in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday, and then Arsenal in the league on 23 December.
