Conor Bradley recalls 'weird' Liverpool moment he had to copy Mohamed Salah

Conor Bradley must be one of the youngest captains in the history of international football. The 21-year-old skippered Northern Ireland in the latest international break, leading the country to four points and a pair of clean sheets in the UEFA Nations League.

Focus must now return to matters and an opponent the young full-back knows better than most. The sight of on the fixture calendar has stirred Bradley’s memories of the time he was asked to play like .

That occurred , but he had also started against the Blues at Anfield in a 4-1 victory three weeks earlier. Bradley made three goal contributions in that match, assisting the opener and third goal either side of scoring himself. It is rare for a defender to do this in a Premier League match, with the Northern Irishman the only player to have done so in the last year.

As special as that was, helping Liverpool win a trophy against Chelsea at Wembley will have been on another level. Bradley began that game at right-back but had to make a positional switch when was forced into making a first half substitution. The right-back recently explained what happened that day.

“That was a weird one as we were really light in numbers, we didn’t have many players left,” Bradley said, via . “Ryan [Gravenberch] had to come off and Joe [Gomez] came on so I had to go to right wing.”

It will always be worth reflecting on this. Liverpool were in a cup final and playing a front three of Bradley, Luis Díaz and Cody Gakpo. It’s remarkable the young defender did as well as he did.

“I had never played there before in my professional career,” Bradley continued. “It was mad, that’s where Mo Salah usually plays and now there was a young lad from Castlederg playing there.

“I really enjoyed the experience. To lift a trophy with my dream club, who I’ve supported all my life, was surreal and another very special night for me.”

Bradley is not going to start against Chelsea this weekend, assuming everyone is fit as expected. Even if he gets on as a substitute, it is unlikely he will be filling in for Salah either. But he can take great inspiration from his performances against the Blues last term should he play a part at Anfield on Sunday.