Joe Gomez gave a “incredible” performance against Southampton on Wednesday night, and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has praised it.

 

After winning the Carabao Cup at Wembley Stadium a few days ago, Liverpool has advanced to the FA Cup quarterfinals.
Early on, Southampton gave the Reds some trouble, but Lewis Koumas’ incredible first senior goal gave them the lead.

With two goals in front of the Kop in the second half, substitute Jayden Danns put the game beyond Southampton.

Although Liverpool’s youth players are currently in the news once more, Jurgen Klopp was actually more interested in an older player.

Jose Gomez and Jurgen Klopp
When Liverpool’s starting lineup was revealed on Wednesday night, several of the supporters were perplexed.

Conor Bradley was perceived by some as playing in midfield, while others believed he would play wide, providing help to Bobby Clark and James McConnell in the middle.

In the end, Bradley was positioned at right back, and Joe Gomez was playing in midfield.

We are accustomed to Gomez as Liverpool’s defensive utility player; he can play left back, centre back, or right back, depending on the situation.

It is a little less typical to play as a holding midfielder, though, as Gomez was somewhat forced out of his comfort zone against the Saints.

Even if there were some difficult times, Klopp expressed his admiration for Gomez to beIN Sports, calling him “incredible.”

Gomez had arguably never played as a number six before, according to Klopp, but he nevertheless put up a “exceptional” performance anchoring the midfield with two young players ahead of him.

Gomez has “saved” Liverpool this season, according to Klopp, who also praises his willingness to play a variety of roles to benefit the squad.

 

“Joe Gomez had to play six today—never played that before in his life, as far as I know, as an adult at least—because Ryan is out for a few weeks and Wataru is unable to play,” stated Klopp.

“He played a fantastic game. He has already saved our bacon 15, 20, or more times this year. He plays left back in a way that I haven’t seen many players do, and his current play at number six is quite remarkable, especially considering that he has two children in front of him. There was a lot of ground to cover because they didn’t have the best timing ever, which was remarkable,” he continued.

 

Gomez, who cost only £3.5 million when he was signed from Charlton Athletic in 2015, has excelled this year and is incredibly adaptable.

Players like Gomez, who will set aside their personal desires to complete a task for the team, are essential to any elite squad.

That was the case on Wednesday, and given Klopp’s compliments, we might even see more of Gomez in that capacity going forward.