'Special mention': Pundit singles out £45m Liverpool player who was 'exceptional' against Brighton today
Today at 02:45 PM
Liverpool put in a terrific second-half performance to beat Brighton on Saturday.
The Reds were desperately poor for the opening 45 minutes at Anfield but hit two goals in quick succession to turn the game on its head after the break.
Liverpool had Mohamed Salah to thank for a brilliant winner, but the Egyptian was far from the only hero at Anfield.
Having seen Ibrahima Konate go off with a problem right on the stroke of half-time, Arne Slot was forced to turn to Joe Gomez for the second period.
As it turned out, Liverpool were much improved with Gomez alongside Virgil van Dijk at the back.
And according to former Reds player Ray Houghton, the 27-year-old deserved a huge amount of praise for the way he stepped into the game.
Joe Gomez earns ‘special mention’ against Brighton
Gomez has not been used an awful lot by Slot so far this season. In fact, after almost being sold for £45m this summer, the No.2 is yet to start a Premier League game.
Having rested Konate and Van Dijk in the Carabao Cup in midweek, though, Gomez was given a full 90 minutes at the Amex Stadium.
Although the Brighton team Gomez came on to face at Anfield were very much changed from the one on Wednesday, perhaps that prepared the defender for Saturday’s introduction.
Speaking to LFCTV post-game, Houghton certainly seemed to think so, praising the way Gomez used the midweek game to hone his match fitness.
READ MORE: Liverpool’s player ratings vs Brighton as ‘exceptional’ Joe Gomez makes statement
“Special mention for Joe Gomez,” said Houghton. “Joe Gomez second-half was exceptional and it showed you just why Wednesday night in the Carabao Cup, him playing in that game was so important. He got that 90 minutes under his belt, he came on that second-half, outstanding, didn’t put a foot wrong and nearly scored twice!
“You’ve got to mention people like that because they come on and have a huge impact,” added the 62-year-old. “I thought he was brilliant.
“All credit to him, he’s kept himself in really good shape and I thought second-half he was top draw.”
Joe Gomez stats vs Brighton
Gomez really was worthy of a mention for his 45-minute display against Brighton.
Although he was only on the pitch for half of the game, the defender had a strong shout to be Liverpool’s man of the match.
Gomez won 100% of his tackles and 100% of his duels, both ground and aerial against Brighton.
The 27-year-old also made 3 clearances, one with his head and made two recoveries.
It was a difficult ask coming in to a game Liverpool weren’t doing well in and replacing a player in Konate who has been in terrific form. But Gomez boxed it off without any trouble at all.
