ReactionConor Bradley on 'nightmare' Diaz, Luton win, hearing his name sung and Wembley
Conor Bradley hailed the 'full-back's nightmare' Luis Diaz after the Colombian helped inspire Liverpool's comeback win against Luton Town on Wednesday.
Diaz was one of four Reds players on the scoresheet as Jürgen Klopp's side produced a stunning second-half display to beat the Hatters 4-1 at Anfield and establish a four-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.
The 27-year-old becomes the fifth Liverpool player to reach double figures for goals this season, delivering a display of typical persistence, energy and skill.
And afterwards, Bradley paid tribute to his teammate's game-changing quality.
"He's my worst nightmare in training, I hate coming up against him!" the Northern Irishman told Liverpoolfc.com. "He can go left, he can go right. He's playing brilliantly at the moment, and long may it continue.
"It's the worst thing for a full-back when someone can go down the line or come inside, it's a nightmare. The fact he can go on his left foot or his right is brilliant for us, and he causes teams all sorts of trouble."
On a dramatic evening, Liverpool had fallen behind to Chiedozie Ogbene's 12th-minute header, but two goals in two minutes after half-time from Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo turned the game on its head, before Diaz and Harvey Elliott added some late gloss to the scoreline.
"We knew before the game it was going to be difficult with the circumstances, the injuries we've had," said Bradley. "Going in 1-0 down, some teams might have given up but that's not us. We went to the final whistle and we're glad to get the win."
Asked if there had been any specific instructions from Klopp at half-time, Bradley said: "We just went out there and gave it a bit more. We wanted to be calmer in the final third – we lashed at a few chances that we got [in the first half] – so we wanted to be calmer and take our chances. I think we did that and we scored four wonderful goals."
Bradley himself played a key role in his side's comeback, and was given a standing ovation from supporters when replaced by Andy Robertson midway through the second period, before chants of 'there's only one Conor Bradley' rang out from the Kop.
"It's surreal, it's mental!" said the 20-year-old. "I'm so thankful for all the support, it's honestly crazy! It was brilliant.
"Every time I go out there I just try to give everything I've got and help the team any way I can. If I keep doing that hopefully it will keep going.
"I've always had belief in myself that it'd go well, but obviously I didn't expect that it'd go quite this well! It's going very well for me at the minute but I know there'll be bad patches as well, so I just need to keep my head down, keep working hard and hopefully more will come."
Attention for Liverpool now turns to Sunday's Carabao Cup final at Wembley against Chelsea, and Bradley is hoping to get his chance in the starting XI as the Reds look to win the competition for a record 10th time.
"That'd be really special," he said. "If I got to walk out starting with the team, it'd be a moment I'd have for the rest of my life. We're really looking forward to going there and hopefully bringing the trophy back to Liverpool.
"That's what the gaffer keeps saying – it's a great confidence boost for us going forward for the rest of the season. We've done all the hard work getting there, now we just need to put on a good performance on Sunday and get the win."
This article has been automatically translated and, while all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, some errors in translation are possible. Please refer to the original English-language version of the article for the official version.