Liverpool endured a forgettable afternoon on Sunday as Fulham took full advantage of a host of defensive mishaps to clinch all three points at Craven Cottage.
Alexis Mac Allister got the Reds off to the perfect start, lashing home a crisp strike from distance, but three goals in the space of 15 minutes from Ryan Sessegnon, Alex Iwobi and Rodrigo Muniz turned the game on its head.
Luis Diaz emerged as a second-half substitute to halve the deficit before Harvey Elliott came close to finding an equalizer as his curled effort crashed off the crossbar, but Arne Slot’s men ultimately succumbed to their second league defeat of the season, and their first away from home.
There were few positives to take away from the game, but one of them was the return of Conor Bradley, as he came off the bench to make his first appearance in over six weeks.
Bradley had been sidelined since sustaining a hamstring injury during the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa on February 19, and the sight of him returning to the field in West London was a welcome one.
Injuries aside, he has enjoyed a hugely encouraging season on an individual level, making 23 appearances and showing the quality to suggest that he could have a long and bright future at Liverpool.
With Trent Alexander-Arnold set to depart Anfield this summer, the right-back spot in Slot’s team could be his to lose, depending on how Liverpool chooses to address Alexander-Arnold’s impending move to Madrid in the transfer market.
(Image: Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Against Fulham on Sunday, Bradley replaced Ibrahima Konate with around 25 minutes to play and made an immediate impact in attack, driving forward with the ball before setting up Diaz for Liverpool’s second goal.
Bradley also won: 100 per cent of the ground duels he was involved in; 100 per cent of the tackles he went in for; recovered the ball four times; created two chances; and made 21 accurate passes out of 26 attempted passes.
It was undoubtedly an impressive cameo from the Northern Ireland international, and he will expect to start all of Liverpool’s games from now until Alexander-Arnold returns from injury towards the end of the campaign.
Curtis Jones started at right-back against Fulham after having also done so against Everton last week but that was an experiment that was never likely to endure, and he will no doubt be grateful that when he next plays for the Reds, he will probably do so in a more familiar midfield role.
