‘Sublime, superb’ – National press goes crazy over 9/10 Liverpool player in 2-0 win v Real Madrid | OneFootball

Liverpool finally broke the Real Madrid curse after beating Los Blancos 2-0 at Anfield in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

The Reds have maintained their flawless start in the 2024/25 European campaign and have won all five of their games so far.

Liverpool simply outclassed Madrid who have now lost three of their five games.

After failing to beat them in their previous eight attempts, including two Champions League finals, this victory was very special for the Reds.

Alexis MacAllister and Cody Gakpo scored in the second half, while Mohamed Salah missed a penalty in an eventful game at Anfield.

Caoimhin Kelleher saved a penalty to deny Kylian Mbappe, while Arne Slot described Curtis Jones as “outstanding”.

Conor Bradley was the star of the show

However, it was a special night for Conor Bradley who started for the first time in this competition.

The 21-year-old right-back was fearless, and he made a crunching tackle on Mbappe.

In the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold, the young defender looked like his perfect replacement. He registered an assist for the opening goal and looked dangerous every time he ran with the ball.

The Times described him as “superb”; the Daily Mail gave him a 9/10 rating, while The Athletic noted that he played a “sublime” pass to MacAllister leading to the goal.

The Mail wrote: “Two years ago this week he was playing for Bolton away at Fleetwood. Some rise for the youngster, who put in a perfect defensive display against Mbappe and assisted Mac Allister’s goal.”

Injury concern for Bradley

Towards the end of the match, Bradley and Ibrahima Konate picked up injuries, and they looked in pain.

Bradley appeared to suffer a hamstring injury in the 87th minute, and he could be out for the crucial Premier League clash against Manchester City on Sunday.

Alexander-Arnold was an unused substitute against Madrid, and he should be able to return against City.

Read more: Liverpool have set their sight on Bayer Leverkusen star in the January window.