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Pep Guardiola raises eyebrows with praise for Liverpool ace after tough Man City display

Originally posted on HITC | By James Brooke | Last updated Nov 10, 2025 8:53 AM ET

Conor Bradley might not face a more difficult afternoon all season than the one he had in Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday.

It has been an eventful week for the young right-back, who secured his spot in the starting line-up after an outstanding performance against Real Madrid just days earlier.

Bradley did an impressive job keeping Vinicius Jr. quiet, giving fans more reason to believe he could be the long-term solution to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold.

After a showing like that, there was every reason for him to feel confident heading into Sunday’s game at the Etihad Stadium, but Jeremy Doku’s dazzling form proved too much for the 22-year-old, who struggled in his battle.

Doku capped off his day with a superb goal and took home man of the match honours. But even so, City manager Pep Guardiola still had plenty of praise for Bradley after the game.

Pep Guardiola singles out Conor Bradley after Liverpool’s loss to Man City

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Guardiola has developed a reputation in the Premier League for praising opponents, especially when he does not see them as a real threat.

As a result, his compliments often come with a hint of scepticism. But even so, getting singled out by someone of his stature still means something.

“Today Conor [Bradley] the right-back from Liverpool, I’m really, really impressed,” the Spaniard said after the match.

“Pep Lijnders told me a thousand incredible things about that guy. He can do everything, I know in the game against Madrid how good he was with Vinicius. Vinicius is, wow, right, and he handled it.”

Liverpool fans might not share Guardiola’s view after watching Bradley struggle against Doku.

Bradley can take positives from difficult day against Doku

To Bradley’s credit, he did not shy away from the challenge, even when it was clear he was coming off second best more often than not.

He did manage to put in a few notable tackles, showing resilience despite the tough match-up.

With international duty calling, Bradley can look back on his recent displays for Liverpool with some pride.

He appears to be making the right-back position his own, and setbacks like Sunday’s could prove valuable in his development over time.

Liverpool supporters might not buy into Guardiola’s praise after such a poor team performance, but there is still plenty of potential in Bradley that should not be overlooked.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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