Virgil van Dijk and Luis Diaz impressed by 20-year-old Liverpool player’s display vs Fulham

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Liverpool had a a couple of standout performers as they qualified for the Carabao Cup final at Fulham’s expense last night.

It wasn’t always an easy night for the Reds in West London. Holding just a one goal lead from the first-leg, they had to withstand some late Fulham pressure to come out with a 1-1 draw.

Luis Diaz in particular had a good game and – although he was a little wasteful – the Colombian ended up being the hero for Liverpool.

Another hero was young right-back Conor Bradley. Continuing to deputise in the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Bradley performed well under pressure in the Reds defence.

And after the game, the 20-year-old’s contribution was recognised by both Diaz and captain Virgil van Dijk. Taking to Instagram following the final whistle, Bradley expressed his delight at having reached next month’s final.

“See you at Wembley Reds,” posted the Northern Ireland international. Diaz and Van Dijk voiced their appreciation, the goal-scorer posting a bulging bicep emoji, while the skipper sent some flames. Conor certainly is on fire at the moment.

Bradley earns senior recognition

If he didn’t already, then Bradley should now really feel part of the first-team set-up at Liverpool.

Last night may have only been his 12th appearance for the senior Reds side, but the youngster has now started three games in a row.

With Alexander-Arnold closing in on a return, it’ll be interesting to see whether Bradley makes that a fourth this weekend against Norwich City.

But given it’s an FA Cup game, at home and against lower league opposition, we’d be minded to say that Jurgen Klopp will stick with his No.84.

Certainly, that wouldn’t appear to bother Liverpool’s more senior stars.

Van Dijk and Diaz’s recognition indicates that they now see their much younger teammate as one of them. Bradley has earned the right to be viewed that way.

For the moment, he should soak all of that in as much as possible. Where he then goes from here is still anyone’s guess.

Having shown that he’s ready to compete in the first-team, Klopp has a decision to make on Bradley this summer. As we’ve seen in the past with Neco Williams, these talented young full-backs won’t wait around forever to dislodge Trent. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out.

That’s for the future, though. For now, Conor will be on cloud nine. Enjoy, young man.