Liverpool finally have player to unlock perfect midfield, he shone against Florian Wirtz vs Germany

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Liverpool have a perfect record in the Premier League so far this season but their title defence has not been plain sailing so far.

Their high-profile pursuit of Alexander Isak went down to the last hour of the transfer window, with a move for Marc Guehi blocked by Crystal Palace at the last minute.

An injury to Jeremie Frimpong also forced midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai to deputise at right-back while Conor Bradley returned to fitness after an injury of his own, with Szoboszlai impressing out of position.

However, Liverpool would much prefer their Hungarian number eight to be in his natural midfield position, especially with new summer signing Florian Wirtz struggling in his early performances.

Conor Bradley form for Northern Ireland should please Arne Slot, unlocks Dominik Szoboszlai to return to midfield

With Frimpong injured, Bradley’s return to fitness is welcome for Arne Slot. He made his first two starts of the season this week for Northern Ireland, helping his nation to a win over Luxembourg before they were beaten by Germany.

However, Bradley impressed against the Germans with a standout display in defence, making more tackles than any other player on the pitch, winning more duels and attempting more passes than any of his teammates.

Conor Bradley statistics for Northern Ireland vs Germany (source: FotMob)

• Duels won – 11 (1st)
• Ground duels won – 9 (1st)
• Tackles – 7 (1st)
• Fouls won – 2 (3rd)
• Defensive contributions – 9 (3rd)
• Touches – 48 (9th, 1st for Northern Ireland)
• Passes into final third – (6th, 2nd for Northern Ireland)

His six passes into the final third were the most of any outfield player for Northern Ireland, as were the two fouls he won in the game.

In fact, Bradley is well out in front among all players in European World Cup qualifying for successful tackles per 90 minutes, averaging 4.9 tackles with a success rate of 90%. So if he takes that form back to Liverpool, it will free up Szoboszlai to return to his natural midfield position.

Arne Slot can finally unleash new-look midfield after Florian Wirtz moment for Germany vs Northern Ireland

Also on show in Cologne was Liverpool’s £116m summer signing Florian Wirtz, who is yet to show his previous form for Bayer Leverkusen in his early Anfield performances.

But a perfect free kick against Northern Ireland should be a confidence boost for the German, especially knowing he can return to Liverpool with a new midfield partner in Szoboszlai.

So far this season, Arne Slot has been unable to play his first-choice midfield trio of Szoboszlai, Wirtz and Ryan Gravenberch due to suspension and injury absences in the team.

So with Bradley back to his best, Slot can belatedly unleash his dangerous trio, starting at Burnley next weekend before a Champions League opener against Atletico Madrid.