Pep Guardiola comments spoke volumes about Liverpool man who is leading the way

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The result was also the same: a clean sheet and a dominant win against Europe’s most decorated champions.Bradley put in a performance against Madrid that silenced much of the criticism that has come his way this season, perhaps a little unfairly. When the Frenchman is on form, as he was against Madrid, he is one of the best centre-halves in world football; when he is off his game, he radiates uncertainty into a defence.This was best summed up by the incident for City’s penalty: Bradley, having got his body between Doku and the ball, was shepherding it back towards the keeper before Konate stepped into a situation for which he was not needed.

For all of Vinicius Jr’s quality, however, there are few better dribblers than Doku, and Liverpool did not do enough to provide sufficient cover on his side.Despite enduring a difficult afternoon without proper support from his teammates, Bradley’s individual performance was more or less consistent with the one he put in against Madrid. According to FotMob, Bradley was statistically Liverpool’s best player against City.This feels a little distorted by the volume of interventions he was required to make, winning the most duels (seven) and only Dominik Szoboszlai making more defensive contributions than Bradley’s eightEven so, he made three interceptions - the most of any player on either side - and in coming out with the ball in 56% of his ground duels, he scored significantly higher than Liverpool’s team average of 39%.

Guardiola was effusive in his praise of Bradley’s performance, describing his reaction as being “really, really impressed.”The City manager also offered some interesting insight into the mentality behind his side’s improvement, following a surprisingly poor season in 2024-25. There is no getting away from the fact that the next five league games are eminently winnable for any team with the target of a top four finish, never mind a now unlikely 21st league title.Should he stay fit and maintain or improve on his current levels, the greater defensive security that Bradley offers - coupled with his underrated attacking qualities - should see him finally nail down his spot as Liverpool’s first-choice right-back.The upcoming run offers a great opportunity for Slot to introduce stability to his side, while rotating where required to give players rest and bed in the new signings.