Arne Slot was surprised to learn Conor Bradley provided an assist for Liverpool against Real Madrid on Wednesday and picked out three Reds stars for praise after the win at Anfield.
Alexis Mac Allister gave Liverpool the lead after a one-two with Bradley that Slot missed before Cody Gakpo came off the bench to secure victory with a towering header.
Both Kylian Mbappe and Mohamed Salah missed penalties in a breathless game that means Liverpool remain top of the Champions League table having won all of their games and leaves Madrid in 24th place having claimed just six points from their opening five games.
Slot was impressed by his side’s performance but isn’t getting carried away after a game in the group stage of the competition.
“It is always good to win a game, especially a big game like this,” said the Dutchman, who will now be preparing his side to take on Manchester City on Sunday.
“It will mean more in the later stages of the tournament. It is difficult to judge how big these wins are. If we are able to beat them in the knockout stages it will be a bigger statement.”
Slot reserved special praise for the three academy graduates who were all brilliant, including Conor Bradley who marked Mbappe out of the game and registered an assist.
“He assisted? I didn’t know… he was in a strange position then,” laughed Slot.
“It is nice for him, his family and the academy that a player who comes through does so well, like Caoimhin and Curtis (Jones). To have three academy players doing so well is a big compliment and Conor did very well. I am not surprised because he showed it last season.”
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Rio Ferdinand believes the Reds have “put the gauntlet down” after beating the European champions and claimed the Liverpool players played like Rottweilers at Anfield.
Ferdinand said on TNT Sports: “They’ve put the gauntlet down to all the other teams in Europe. They look like the best team in Europe at the moment.
‘They’re playing as a team and look the hungriest individuals about. They’re not only getting results, they look starving. They look like they haven’t been fed for ages, Rottweilers running round the pitch hunting teams down. They’ve got the composure.”
Mbappe endured a particularly tough evening but Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti insists he’s “an extraordinary player” simply going through a difficult time.
“It’s a difficult moment for him, we’ve got to support him and give him our love, he’ll soon be fine,” Ancelotti said.
“It could be a lack of confidence maybe. Sometimes you have moments when things aren’t quite working out for you. But you get through these moments. People miss penalties, it happens a lot. You can’t put too much grief on him for that.
“He works hard, he’s got to keep working hard and fighting. You get through these moments. Things just aren’t running for him at the moment. We’ve got be patient. He’s an extraordinary player.”
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