Jurgen Klopp hailed new Anfield hero Conor Bradley as a ‘wonderful kid’ after the rookie right back scored his first goal for the club and assisted another as Liverpool thrashed Chelsea 4-1 last night.
The Merseysiders were in four-middable form as they thrashed Chelsea at Anfield to maintain their five-point lead at the top of the table. But it was a performance inspired by the brilliance of Northern Ireland’s 20-year-old right-back Bradley after he scored one and created two.
Liverpool Jurgen Klopp has hailed Conor Bradley as a ‘wonderful kid’ after starring in their 4-1 win over Chelsea
Bradley was the star of the show as he scored and provided two assists against the Blues
It saw the Reds keep up their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, with Manchester City also winning against Burnley. Diogo Jota opened the scoring before Bradley, Dominik Szoboszlai and Luis Diaz added others for Liverpool in a dominant display.
And Klopp singled out 20-year-old Bradley, who spent last season on loan at League One Bolton but has impressed during Trent Alexander-Arnold’s absence, for praise. ‘What a wonderful kid he is,’ said the German boss.
‘Outstanding finish, the whole game, the contribution, the involvement. It’s a job to play against (Raheem) Sterling, that’s not easy. I’m really happy for him. He’s a very serious young man and that was pretty special I have to say.
‘We saw in the pre-season. He is really doing well. A few weeks ago when I was on holiday a few Bolton fans asked if they could have Bradley back but it’s too late! For us it’s important because we could not have put this string of results together without these kids.’
Klopp added: ‘Attitude is not our problem, that is something we can expect, that is great for the culture. Attitude will not be the issue of this team. This team is full of joy and excitement. The problem is a lot of other teams in the league are exactly the same!’
Jurgen Klopp secured his 200th win in the Premier League as the Reds were rampant to stay in front of Manchester City and Arsenal. Bradley – who has deputised for the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold in recent weeks – said the manager’s impending departure this summer has given the Reds more fire to win the title.
He added: “It was unfortunate the way Trent got injured. I just had to try to take my chance. I feel I’ve done pretty well. [Klopp leaving was a] big stun to us all. It’s giving us extra motivation.”
According to sources from Anfield Watch, Bradley has surpassed Raheem Sterling to become the youngest Liverpool player to have 1 goal and 1 assist in the same match since 2014. It also means that he is the youngest player in Liverpool to score 1 goal and 1 assist in the same match since 2014. youngest to do so under Jurgen Klopp.
According to Sofascore, the 20-year-old right-back not only impressed on The Kop’s attack with 4 key passes but also excelled in defense when he had 7 disputes and 3 successful tackles.
4 assists in 4 days has shown that Klopp made the right decision to put his trust in Bradley, but he will have a headache when deciding who to choose for the right-back position in the important match with Arsenal on this Sunday.
