Arne Slot’s choice questioned as Liverpool starter struggles badly against Everton

Conor Bradley, while performing well for Northern Ireland during the international break, struggled in the Merseyside derby.

Much of the pre-match attention centred on whether Jack Grealish could carry over his strong form into the derby and give Everton a lift at Anfield.

There were calls for Slot to drop Jeremie Frimpong in favour of Bradley, as many felt he was better suited to dealing with Grealish’s threat on that side.

The only real positive for him was an 88% pass completion rate, but that did not make up for how often he struggled defensively.

Grealish looked dangerous throughout, creating more chances than anyone else on the pitch. Bradley can count himself fortunate that none of those opportunities led to goals.

This was not the kind of display he needed, especially given his ongoing challenge to nail down a regular spot. Every time it looks like he might put together a run in the team, a game like this seems to crop up and set him back again.

Arne Slot’s right-back options

Frimpong was left out of the Merseyside derby, but the Dutchman is expected to be back in the line-up for the upcoming Carabao Cup clash against Southampton.

If he puts in another performance like the one we saw against Atletico Madrid, it will be tough for Bradley to make a case for starting ahead of him.

With both domestic and European commitments piling up, Slot will need to rotate his squad. Right now, though, Frimpong looks better equipped to handle the bigger games.

Bradley spent most of his Liverpool career filling in for Trent Alexander-Arnold before this season.

Now, he has a real chance to compete for a starting spot, but without a standout performance when opportunities come his way, he risks slipping back into a back-up role behind Frimpong.