Arne Slot “loved” Joe Gomez‘s performance in replacing the injured Ibrahima Konate against Brighton, and wasn’t surprised as “this is what people told me.”
Gomez made only his third substitute appearance in this season’s Premier League – and by far the longest – when he came on for Konate at half-time on Saturday.
After a rare start against Brighton in the Carabao Cup in midweek, the 27-year-old followed that up with an outstanding display as Liverpool overturned a 1-0 deficit.
While Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah made the difference at the other end, Gomez played a big part in a dominant rearguard display – and also twice went close to netting his first-ever senior goal.
In his post-match press conference, Slot said of his No. 2: “That says a lot about his mentality today.
“That also says a lot about his quality; if you don’t play that much and you come in, in a game where your teammates were outplayed for 45 minutes, that you can you come in and play like this.
“And it also says a lot about his mentality in the recent weeks and months when he didn’t play that much that he is now able, without playing a lot, to play 90 minutes on Wednesday and to bring in a performance like this on Saturday.
“But this is what people told me when I came in.
“[Staff told me] Joe is a top, top, top professional who will always, no matter what position he’s in, give the best for the team and for himself in the end as well.
“He got the reward for it today, because I think the fans loved what they saw – I definitely did.”
In the space of four days, Gomez more than doubled his game time for the season, having only clocked 126 minutes on the pitch prior to Wednesday.
Slot is right to acknowledge that it speaks to his professionalism that he has been able to perform to such a high level despite a lack of match fitness.
And given Konate is likely sidelined following his arm injury, that could be key to Liverpool maintaining their form in his absence.
“He had a very good performance without the ball,” Slot told Sky Sports of Gomez.
“He constantly stepped into midfield to win the ball, winning the duels, and when he had to defend he did very well. Very good second half.”
Liverpool 2-1 Brighton
