The long-serving 28-year-old came into the starting line-up at the Stade Velodrome in place of Ibrahima Konate, who missed the match for personal reasons, and his performance epitomized an excellent team performance from the Reds.
With the exception of the domestic cup matches, it was only the fifth start of the season for our number 2, but tonight he proved exactly why Arne Slot can always rely on him when he is needed.
Gomez was virtually ‘flawless’ for Liverpool tonight
Liverpool echo reporter Paul Gorst was highly complimentary of Gomez’s performance in Marseille, awarding him a 7/10 in his post-match player ratings, writing: Header wide from an early corner. Otherwise faultless after a rare start as a central defender. All credit to him here.”
Centre-back partner Virgil van Dijk also praised the 28-year-old when I spoke to TNT Sports shortly after my full-time interview, and it was his pass-out from behind to Dominik Szoboszlai which kicked off the action that led to Cody Gakpo’s decisive goal in stoppage time.
As shown in the figures below Bank scorethe Londoner recorded some impressive underlying numbers at the Stade Velodrome, especially in terms of his ball usage.
| Precise passes | 39/39 (100%) |
| Duels won | 3 |
| Clearances | 7 |
| Interceptions | 2 |
Gomez underlines his importance to Liverpool with an excellent performance
Gomez has not had much game time in recent weeks, partly due to a hamstring injury over the festive period, but the extended absences of Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley have increased his importance to Liverpool, not least because of his versatility.
Together with Van Dijk, he provided a stable presence in a defensive unit that has come under justified criticism this season. Thanks to that solid foundation The Reds putting in one of their best performances of the entire season.
He will have been disappointed not to at least hit the target from the first-half header that Gorst mentioned, and that elusive wait for a first LFC goal still continues, but that was the only minor blemish on an otherwise excellent performance from the 28-year-old.
AC Milan had reportedly been eyeing the possibility of a loan deal for Gomez in January in recent weeks. It’s now pretty safe to say that such a move won’t happen in the current transfer window!
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