Liverpool’s 4-4 draw towards relegated Southampton on the ultimate day of the 2022/23 Premier League season typified the tumultuous nature of their marketing campaign, illuminating the great, the dangerous and the inscrutable.
Jurgen Klopp’s facet have been imperious over the previous a number of years, however this time period they surged down a rutted street with no seatbelt and have consequently been left in disarray, failing to qualify for subsequent 12 months’s Champions League for the primary time in seven years.
Victory on the south coast wouldn’t have affected the Reds’ remaining league standing, however it underscored the problems which might be very a lot omnipresent inside Klopp’s squad, pervading like an acrid scent regardless of establishing a late-season purple patch that noticed seven victories on the trot ended by successive attracts to shut the marketing campaign.
The offensive impetus was intact at St. Mary’s Stadium and isn’t the realm of consideration heading into the summer time switch window. Slightly, the shambolic defensive points had been on full present and could have reminded Klopp and co that adjustments have to be made shortly, and whereas captain Jordan Henderson shall be chastised for his “dreadful” error by The Athletic’s James Pearce, Joe Gomez was on the epicentre.
How did Joe Gomez carry out vs Southampton?
Gomez, integral in gleaning the Premier League and Champions League for his Anfield facet, should now be bought after one other howler; he’s merely submerged in depths too nice to beat as his supervisor seeks an apt route again towards success.
The £95k-per-week dynamo didn’t minimize the mustard towards Southampton and was branded a lowly 6.3 match ranking by Sofascore, successful simply two of his six duels, and whereas he accomplished 93% of his passes and succeeded with 5 of his six tried lengthy balls, he was unable to cease the torrent that allowed the house facet to clamber again from two objectives down to steer 4-2.
Maybe essentially the most telling a part of the show was Gomez’s precise defensive contribution, with one clearance and one interception the extent of his work, failing to make a sort out and leaving LFC podcaster Graeme Kelly branding him as “finished“.
Objective’s Neil Jones gave the one-time Charlton Athletic prospect a 5/10 match ranking and stated that he was ‘nowhere close to commanding sufficient’, and that sums it up when contemplating the calibre of centre-back Liverpool must return to former glory.
Gomez should be granted sympathy for his woes; he has fallen prey to three severe accidents throughout his time at Liverpool and has undoubtedly and understandably been hampered by the setbacks, however after the Reds’ shambolic collective season, Klopp should be ruthless as he crafts a system to take his workforce again to the forefront.
He was incisive earlier than, signing Allison for £67m after Loris Karius suffered the ignominy of an error-strewn Champions League remaining in 17/18, and should accomplish that once more within the forthcoming switch market.
Gomez has truly been mooted fpr a transfer away from Anfield over the previous few months too, with prime 4 high-fliers Newcastle United linked with the 26-year-old over the previous few months, Magpies supervisor Eddie Howe seemingly a ‘huge fan’ of the 11-cap England worldwide.
Liverpool are at a definitive second and are certainly introduced with a possibility to reassemble the squad able to compete for main honours as soon as once more, and whereas Gomez has been a stalwart for his Merseyside outfit, he might properly have performed his final after yet one more dismal show.