Joe Gomez On Table Tennis Tournaments and Training in Austria

You might think that with all the individual awards won by Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, that they could at least go easy on their teammates when it came to the preseason table tennis tournament.

But apparently that competitive spirit never really fades, because the dynamic duo also won the table tennis final that took place on the training grounds.

When Joe Gomez was asked about his performance, he admitted that he and partner Carl Lancaster, one of the kit management coordinators, got thrown out in the early rounds.

“We were an early exit unfortunately against Robbo, which I don’t think was a justified loss but it’s part of the game. We left gracefully,” he said.

“Mo and Sadio were deserving winners. It was a good match-up, to be fair.

“The standard is decent in some games but it’s more so just bragging rights and giving some trash talk really. It’s a bit of fun.”

Look on the bright side, Joe! At least you didn’t pick up another injury!

While that’s a bit of fun, there was also work going on in scenic Austria.

“In terms of the game the other day [against Stuttgart], I think a lot of us had in mind, ‘In a week from now we play in the Community Shield,’ Gomez said, referring the their game against Arsenal on Saturday. “We’ve got to emphasize getting in the rhythm of things and getting the good habits back in place as soon as possible.

“Even though it’s a short break, it’s obviously important we hit the ground running and in less than a week now there’s a trophy up for grabs. I definitely think we can’t just treat them as friendlies and more so the foundations to put in a good performance on the weekend.”

The last friendly before the team heads back to Merseyside takes place on Tuesday against RB Salzburg.