Arne Slot must axe ‘special’ ace from his Liverpool starting XI after what he did vs Aston Villa

Add as preferred source on Google

Liverpool finally managed to add a win to their Premier League tally as they beat Aston Villa 2-0 at Anfield on Saturday evening.

Although most of the Reds’ first-team squad had a decent game against the Villans, some performed well below par once again.

Some, such as Giorgi Mamardashvili, had their best-ever games in a Liverpool shirt, but unfortunately, Conor Bradley wasn’t one of them.

The right-back has been handed a golden opportunity to prove his worth to Arne Slot now that Jeremie Frimpong is sidelined for six weeks.

Bradley failed to take the opportunity on Saturday evening against Villa as he ended up being one of the Reds’ worst performers.

Conor Bradley’s Aston Villa performance should get him dropped from Liverpool’s starting XI

There weren’t any massive mistakes that the Northern Irishman made in the game against Villa, but his overall performance was poor.

Whenever he got on the ball, nobody knew what he was going to do, and there were a fair few times when he ended up giving it away.

He was the full-back chosen to help out Liverpool’s attack, with Andy Robertson often tucking in next to Virgil van Dijk to form a back three.

There were, of course, times when the Scotsman pushed forward, but it also felt like he held back quite a lot.

This meant that not only was Bradley given his preferred role, but Slot did everything in his power to make it work, and the “special” ace still failed to show that spark he had last season.

The fact that Joe Gomez is the only other option Slot has available to him at the moment feels like one of the main reasons Bradley is still starting, but if he continues putting in performances like this, he has to be dropped.

Liverpool need Jeremie Frimpong back as soon as possible

Liverpool’s right-back has been a problem area throughout most of their 2025-26 season.

Dominik Szoboszlai, Frimpong, Bradley, and even Calvin Ramsay have all been used at right-back this term, which shows how much of a conundrum Slot is in.

Of the four players, Szoboszlai is the one who arguably performed the best at right-back, but since he’s such a good attacking midfielder, he’s wasted when used there.

This is why Frimpong needs to get back to full fitness as soon as possible.

Although his defensive work isn’t perfect, the attacking prowess he brings to the team is second to none.

His presence also provides an extra attacking option up front for Liverpool, as he’s often caught overlapping with Mohamed Salah.

But, since Frimpong’s return isn’t scheduled for any time soon, the Reds are going to have to change and adapt as quickly as possible; otherwise, their Premier League title hopes will be in tatters.