Anfield erupted. It really did. That was the performance Arne Slot’s Liverpool have been searching for this season, with Alexis Mac Allister’s second-half header putting Real Madrid to the sword in the Champions League.
Real Madrid were overwhelmed, enervated, reduced to mincemeat in a similar fashion to last season’s win over the La Liga giants, and it could have been a wider, more sobering margin for Europe’s biggest hitters, but for a strong performance from Thiabaut Courtois between the posts.
The win over Aston Villa in the Premier League at the weekend stopped the rot, ended the four-game losing run, but this was a display of a different nature, the Reds going from strength to strength and reminding Europe of their prowess.
There have been many issues and imbalances within Slot’s squad this season, but this was an emphatic performance, outstanding from every department, both in possession and against the ball.
Epitomising this mini-revival on Merseyside, of course, was Conor Bradley.
Bradley proves too much for Real (again)
Not for the first time over the past year, Bradley came up trumps against Real Madrid’s devastating frontline, this time focusing his sights on Vinicius Junior, who was ineffective all evening against the Northern Irish star.
Content creator George Scaife remarked that he had “the game of his life” against Los Blancos, winning all three of his tackles, winning eight duels and recovering so many balls.
With Jeremie Frimpong sidelined with an injury, the 22-year-old has a real chance to kick on now and nail down a starting berth after a shaky start to the campaign which has presented him as unsure and somewhat unfit at times.
There have been times when Bradley’s place in the Liverpool side has been called into question, but he has the ability to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold, who made an unsuccessful return to Anfield on Tuesday, in the long run.
However, there’s another star who has become their main man, having looked endangered in the starting line-up after the summer spending spree.
Liverpool star is becoming one of world's best
There’s no question that Liverpool have been woefully out of sorts this season, but Dominik Szoboszlai has been a pillar of strength throughout the opening months.
Effortlessly good as an all-action midfielder and tenacious and industrious in a makeshift right-back berth, Szoboszlai’s energy and enterprise on the ball have been second to none, and he has been hailed as “our most important player” by one prominent Reds fan, also admitting that he “would be one of the ones to drop out of the XI” after a summer of spending that saw Florian Wirtz signed for a record-breaking £116m fee.
But the Hungary skipper has been nothing short of sensational, and he was once again the star of the show, peppering the Real Madrid goal and assisting the winner with a delightful set-piece delivery.
Minutes played
90′
Goals
0
Assists
1
Touches
54
Shots (on target)
5 (4)
Accurate passes
30/39 (77%)
Chances created
3
Crosses
3/3
Interceptions
1
Recoveries
6
Duels won
2/9
The Liverpool Echo saw it fit to hand the 24-year-old a 9/10 match rating, ahead, even, of the goalscoring Mac Allister, producing a masterful creative display and working overtime to overwhelm the Spanish midfield.
While the likes of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk continue to stand proud as the leaders in Slot’s squad, there’s little question that Szoboszlai is outplaying the lot this term, and as the Reds click into gear, raising their collective level, Szoboszlai could hit staggering individual heights.
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