Conor Bradley made his return to the starting lineup in Liverpool’s 1-0 Carabao Cup loss to Tottenham, with the right-back now “ready to go again on Saturday.”
After coming off the bench to replace a struggling Trent Alexander-Arnold on Sunday, Bradley was a popular choice to start in the Carabao Cup semi-final at Tottenham.
It came six weeks after his last start – against Real Madrid in the Champions League – having picked up a hamstring injury that kept him sidelined.
Bradley played an hour in north London on Wednesday night before a seemingly pre-planned triple change that saw Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez replace him, Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota.
And speaking to LFCTV after the game, the 21-year-old said he was “ready to go again” with Arne Slot “managing his minutes.”
“I think there always is [rust to work off] whenever you’ve been out for a couple of weeks,” he explained.
“I felt like I was just growing and growing and growing into the game, but obviously just managing my minutes, coming off at 60, and ready to go again on Saturday.”
Saturday brings the visit of Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup which, three days after the trip to Tottenham, could present another opportunity for Bradley.
Much may depend on Slot’s choice of first-choice right-back during a crisis of sorts for Alexander-Arnold, though the likelihood is he will stick with his No. 66 despite concerns over distractions with interest from Real Madrid.
Nevertheless, Liverpool know they have a backup who is eager to make an impact whenever brought on.
“You’ve just always got to be ready for a chance, whenever you’re called upon and just be ready to come in and give your all for the team and just try to help the team win in any way you can,” Bradley continued.
“That’s what I always try to do. Just be ready.”
Defeat to Tottenham ended a 24-game unbeaten run for Slot’s Liverpool, but unlike the 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League – their only other defeat this season – it may not yet prove costly.
As Bradley continued, he underlined the squad’s belief that a second leg at Anfield is ideal for producing a response.
“Obviously with the result last time we were here, they were probably deflated from it and wanted to show something from it,” he said, with Liverpool having won 6-3 in the league.
“They were always going to show up with a bit more fight and I think that we matched it, especially in the first half.
“As I said, obviously we probably could have been a bit better on the ball at times, but I thought we were aggressive and we matched their physicality. Bring on the second leg.
“Anfield is our home and we love playing there. We’ll have the fans with us as well.
“We can’t wait to get back there, it’ll be a good second-leg tie. We’ve overcome worse than a 1-0, so we’re looking forward to it.”
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