LIVERPOOL’S CLASH WITH Chelsea on Sunday will bring back special memories for Conor Bradley.

Fresh from captaining Northern Ireland in Tuesday’s 5-0 rout of Bulgaria in Belfast, the 21-year-old has returned to the club’s Kirkby training ground with a spring in his step before their next Premier League match.

Taking the armband for his country was just the latest step in Bradley’s outstanding 2024, and two meetings with Chelsea feature prominently in that story.

The first came on January 31 in a 4-1 win over the Londoners at Anfield, as Bradley got his first Liverpool goal and added two assists in a man-of-the-match display.

“It was a mental night,” Bradley says.

“I didn’t really expect to start because Trent (Alexander-Arnold) was back, but the gaffer put trust in me to play. I used that in the game and went into it full of confidence.

“It was a surreal night scoring my first goal. I remember making a tackle and winning a free-kick and then the Kop was singing my name, I can’t describe in words what that felt like, it’s mental.

“It’s definitely one of the most special nights, My mates were over for it and I remember going back home after it and I was thinking ‘what has just happened?’.”

A month later, Bradley got the nod to start in the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea, playing just over 70 minutes of a match Liverpool went on to win 1-0 after extra-time, their final trophy of Jurgen Klopp’s reign.

“That was a weird one as we were really light in numbers, we didn’t have many players left,” Bradley says.

“Ryan (Gravenberch) had to come off and Joe (Gomez) came on so I had to go to right wing.

“I had never played there before in my professional career. 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.”

Playing in the same position as Alexander-Arnold means Bradley still faces a fight to get into the Liverpool side. He has made six appearances so far this term, although his only start was in the 5-1 Carabao Cup win over West Ham.

Liverpool go into the weekend top of the Premier League after a strong start for new manager Arne Slot, but this is the first of a tough little run of games, with a trip to Arsenal next weekend after they travel to RB Leipzig in the Champions League.

“It’s always going to be a special fixture for me when we play (Chelsea) but I have to forget about that now and focus on Sunday as it’s another big game for us,” Bradley adds.

“We’re top of the table at the moment and we want to stay there. We have tough fixtures coming up but we have to focus on the next game.

“We just take every game as it comes, you can only beat whoever’s in front of you. We’ve had a really good start and played some good football.

“It’s going to be a step up in level now but we’re all relishing it. I can’t wait for it.”