Cody Gakpo says there was a Liverpool player who was ‘a little bit injured’ before beating Brighton

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Liverpool came through an awkward looking away tie at Brighton to qualify for the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday.

There, the Reds will face another trip to the South Coast to take on Southampton.

With that game coming sandwiched between a home game against Fulham and an away at Tottenham, Arne Slot will likely field a rotated side once again.

Slot was pleased with the way his ‘second-string’ XI competed at Brighton and several players showed why they deserve the trust of the Liverpool head coach.

One of those who enhanced his reputation no end was Cody Gakpo, who delivered two stunning goals.

But speaking after the game, Gakpo was keen to shine the spotlight away from himself and land it on some of Liverpool’s young heroes on the night.

Cody Gakpo highlights Conor Bradley return

Gakpo was one of Liverpool’s best performers at the Amex. Vitezslav Jaros was also excellent against Brighton and probably ran the Dutchman close for man of the match.

Jaros was one of a number of Liverpool academy players in the squad on Wednesday.

And speaking to Sky Sports via liverpoolfc.com after the game, Gakpo praised the youngsters who had stepped up against the Seagulls.

“Very good, very good,” raved the 25-year-old. “Tyler Morton started, he didn’t start that often. Trey [Nyoni] came in late on, and the goalie obviously. I think they did fantastic, so very proud of them as well. Proud of the whole team.”

READ MORE: Liverpool player told he had a ‘nightmare’ performance in the Carabao Cup against Brighton

Gakpo was also keen to single out Conor Bradley for some words of support. Bradley has been injured recently and his teammate hailed the way the Northern Irishman bounced back with a 90-minute display.

“It’s not always easy if you don’t play that much and then all of a sudden you need to play a game,” said Gakpo.

“For example, Conor was a little bit injured, back directly and playing 90 minutes. Everybody did well so really proud of them and really proud of the team.”

How did Conor Bradley do against Brighton?

Bradley has had a bit of a stuttering season at Liverpool so far. Although he has featured seven times under Slot, this was just his second start.

And while injury has played a significant part in that, it’s also true to say that the 21-year-old hasn’t quite kicked on from last season yet.

2023/24 was a breakout year for Bradley, one in which he suggested he could be a long-term option at right-back for the Reds.

Looking at his performances this year, though, and the Northern Ireland international has not hit those heights.

That continued at Brighton, where Bradley was understandably rusty. He struggled up against Simon Adingra and then Kaoru Mitoma and is perhaps not quite at 100 per cent.