Liverpool supporters have come to a sudden realisation that one “insanely average” player may need to be dropped from Arne Slot’s side after being “tormented” during a 2-1 defeat against Chelsea on Sunday evening. The Reds once again struggled to get going at Stamford Bridge, and a disjointed performance is becoming a recurring theme.
The Premier League champions splashed out over the summer, with more than 15 players coming and going. Their spending surpassed £400 million, breaking the British transfer record twice to bring in both Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak. While many expected them to hit the ground running, the reality has been a series of teething issues that have prevented Liverpool from showing their full potential.
Of course, it’s not all doom and gloom. Performances have often fallen short of expectations, but results have remained solid, with the team putting together a seven-match winning streak before their defeat to Crystal Palace last weekend. But Slot now faces the task of continuing to make his side gel after the international break by figuring out his best lineup – and if Conor Bradley’s cameo against Chelsea is anything to go by, he could soon find himself out of his manager’s thinking.
Conor Bradley Torn Apart by Chelsea in Nightmare First Half
One player who seems to be suffering most from Liverpool’s growing pains after the latest match is Bradley, who was hooked at half-time after struggling to deal with Alejandro Garnacho and picking up a yellow card early on. While the substitution was clearly to prevent him from being sent off following one or two rash challenges after his booking, the fact that he was run ragged by a player who was laughed off stage at Manchester United over the summer doesn’t bode well for him.
A player once adored by the Anfield faithful for his aggression no more than a few months ago, Bradley now finds that same trait working against him – an issue compounded by problems elsewhere in the team, particularly Ibrahima Konate, whose focus seems to be split amid reported interest from Real Madrid. Reacting to the Northern Irishman’s first-half horror show, one X user remarked:
“I don’t know why Connor Bradley is so highly rated, I think he’s insanely average.”
It isn’t the first time a recently rejuvenated winger got the best of him, though, with Jack Grealish having a field day against him in the Merseyside Derby just a couple of weeks ago. Another X user perfectly summarised Bradley’s recent cameos by adding: “I love him, but Conor Bradley has been a walking talking yellow card recently.”
Elsewhere, a third continued: “Bradley struggling vs Garnacho is worrying, because Garnacho isn’t anything special,” as a fourth wrote: “Bradley blowing another opportunity in the starting XI with a pointless yellow card.” Meanwhile, a fifth concluded: “Bradley. Awful.”
