BBC pundit Garth Crooks has heaped praise on Liverpool defender Joe Gomez who has deposed Trent Alexander-Arnold from Klopp’s side.
Crooks said that he was “outstanding” against Huddersfield and said that it was the pass from Gomez that unlocked the opposition and won Liverpool the three points on Saturday afternoon.
“Everybody was talking about the ball from Xherdan Shaqiri to Mohamed Salah which provided Liverpool with their winning goal at Huddersfield,” Crooks wrote in his BBC Team of the Week column, “but not me. It was the ball from Gomez to Shaqiri that unlocked Huddersfield’s gates and let the Reds in the back door.
“It was yet another outstanding performance from Gomez. I also notice that my colleagues on Match of the Day are beginning to notice this lad’s performances. And not before time – I’ve been singing his praises every week since the start of the season.”
OPINION
Gomez has been brilliant this season and he looks equally as composed at centre-back and right-back. That’s pretty phenomenal for a 21-year-old and Trent Alexander-Arnold must be wondering if that’s his season gone. Gomez is the sort of player who can slip under the radar but if you’re watching you’ll know the massive contribution that he makes to the side. Liverpool’s defence has been a revelation this season. Last season it was all about scoring more than they conceded. This season they’ve only let in three goals in nine games, although ironically they’re scoring less as well – 13 goals to Man City’s 23. They’re keeping pace at the top of the table though, with both them and their rivals sitting on seven wins and two draws from nine games played. That’s setting things up for a very exciting Premier League and we hope that Klopp’s side can keep the pace up through the winter months. The great thing for Liverpool is that they’re where they are without Mohamed Salah hitting his stride yet. If he can rediscover last season’s goal-scoring form, they could easily maintain a genuine title challenge.