Joe Gomez Reflects on Liverpool’s “Great Afternoon” Against Man City

The first two months of the 2022-23 season hasn’t gone as Liverpool would have expected, but following up their mid-week demolition of Rangers in the Champions League with their best performance of the season and a 1-0 victory over Manchester City is more than a step in the right direction.

It looks as though finally, just maybe, Jürgen Klopp’s big red crushing machine of recent seasons is back on track. And on Sunday against City at least, one of the players who has had the toughest go of it so far this season appeared back on track, too, as defender Joe Gomez put in a star performance.

“It was a great afternoon,” Gomez reflected after the match. “To really embrace the atmosphere and have an afternoon like that at Anfield was special, against obviously opposition that made it feel that way. I feel like we really grinded it out and put in a performance to do the fans proud.”

With Gomez’ struggles for form and fitness in recent seasons, it might be easy to forget that he was the primary partner for Virgil van Dijk in the 2019-20 season when Liverpool racked up 99 points and ran away with the Premier League title, and the years since have at times been difficult for the player.

Sunday, though, showed everyone that Gomez of seasons past still exists. Now, in the absence of Joël Matip and Ibrahima Konaté, the 25-year-old will get at least a few more games’ worth of chances to show his quality and to perhaps re-establish himself as a Liverpool starter.

“It’s just about trying to have the right approach towards the game,” Gomez said of his mindset heading into the City match. “Keep the principles the same. I think the whole team has desire. We have such a good squad and mentality that everyone steps in and just tries to do their best for the team.”