Liverpool player has just named current £50m Chelsea star as his toughest ever opponent
Liverpool youngster Conor Bradley has shared it’s actually one current Chelsea star that’s been his toughest opponent in senior football so far.
Conor Bradley, who’s aged just 20, is still pretty new to top-flight football. It’s been a huge breakthrough for him this season into Liverpool’s first-team squad under Jurgen Klopp.
The Northern Irish right-back has started two games against Chelsea this campaign, winning in both the Premier League fixture and Carabao Cup final.
When asked by Sky Sports the toughest opponent he has faced in his senior career to date, Bradley has named Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling.
“Raheem Sterling,” Bradley told Sky Sports almost instantly when asked his hardest opponent in senior football.
“I also found Willian tough when I played against Fulham. At international level we played against Greece and Kostas Tsimikas gave me a tough night.”
Sterling’s come under-fire for criticism at times for his individual levels this season, especially during the last few weeks, but he can still put the fear into opposition full-backs when he’s on top of his game.
Speaking via The Daily Mail back in November, Graeme Souness said that generally defenders are “terrified” of facing Sterling because of his speed and directness.
Raheem Sterling a toughest opponent for plenty
There will be a long list of players that haven’t enjoyed facing the pace and movement of £50m star Sterling (BBC) for the last decade.
For example, Chelsea captain Reece James has previously spoken about his troubles against his now teammate.
Speaking via England’s YouTube channel three years ago, James named Sterling as “one of the hardest players” he’s faced. Thankfully, the duo now play together on the same XI at Stamford Bridge.
Similarly, Liverpool and England defender Joe Gomez, 26, previously mentioned difficult coming up against the electric Blues winger.
Speaking via Total Media back in October, Gomez named Sterling as a “direct” forward who’s given him a long day in the past.
At a time when Sterling’s receiving a lot of criticism, it’s worth looking back and remembering the kind of quality in his locker.
from Breaking Chelsea News and Updates - The Chelsea Chronicle https://ift.tt/0uifDbR
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