With Virgil van Dijk so often the subject of gushing praise it’s easy to forget that anyone even plays alongside him at Liverpool.
The commanding Netherlands international is a Goliath presence at the heart of central defence and his class appears to facilitate excellent individual displays from those who play alongside him.
This season Joel Matip, Dejan Lovren and Joe Gomez have all enjoyed extended runs in the starting XI and the trio have staked strong cases to justify a regular place in the team.
Gomez has been the recent beneficiary of injuries to Lovren and Matip and he has taken his chance to impress Klopp in emphatic style.
With him stationed alongside van Dijk the Reds have kept three consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League. In those games he has accumulated five tackles, five interceptions and completed 10 clearances, per Whoscored.
On the ball he has been equally as impressive, boasting a passing success rate above 86% in all three games.
Can you name the result these iconic Liverpool images belong to? Give it a go now…
His recent display against Leicester prompted gushing praise from Darren Bent, who alluded to Gomez’s speed as one of the most impressive attributes and also suggested he’s back to his best, per Football Insider.
The 22-year-old has displayed a level of conviction that Matip was producing on a regular basis at the beginning of the season, but his setback may have just created a major selection dilemma for Klopp to consider – and that’s without even taking Lovren’s improvement into consideration.
At this moment in time it remains unclear when the Cameroon international will return from injury but there is clearly no pressing need for his return with Gomez looking so imperious in the backline.
Selection dilemmas are coveted problems for managers to have. Without healthy competition for places the intensity and desire to impress is likely to diminish over time, and the fact Gomez is coming into top form can only have a positive effect on Matip’s desire to win his place back when he eventually returns.
Liverpool may well be running away with the Premier League title but Klopp will not want complacency to slip into his squad with the Champions League and the FA Cup still to play for.
Gomez’s performances of late will certainly combat that threat from creeping into Liverpool’s central defence.
In other Liverpool news, Jurgen Klopp showed his class following victory over Wolves in post-match picture…