Modest Gomez keeping feet on the ground
As praise poured in for Joe Gomez's confident defensive display at Leicester City on Saturday, the Liverpool No.12 remained true to his modest character.
The 21-year-old was the Reds’ standout performer at the King Power Stadium on a day when their 100 per cent start to the season came under real threat.
Having established a two-goal lead in the first half through Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, Liverpool faced a barrage of pressure from the hosts after the interval.
The Foxes got one back but, in no small part thanks to Gomez, the visitors held out to secure a fourth successive Premier League win going into the international break.
He was the subject of widespread appreciation for his efforts, which came as a continuation of his promising form alongside Virgil van Dijk since the start of the campaign.
But the England international, who was also recalled by his country last week, knows it is too early to get carried away by his form at centre-back.
“All I can do is play. I don’t think it’s down to me to declare or say anything,” said Gomez. “Obviously, in the past I have said I want to play there eventually but whether I’m doing well or not is not for me to decide.
“I’ve just got to stay focused and try to keep going. I’ve got great people around me like Virgil and the whole team to learn from and keep developing.”
Watch: Gomez's best bits against Leicester
For the third game in a row, Liverpool were made to battle for the three points.
Leicester created a series of chances – one denied by a sensational Gomez block in the second half – before Rachid Ghezzal eventually capitalised on Alisson Becker’s error to halve the deficit.
But the Reds were resilient again and the defender stressed the priority of results over performance levels at such an early stage of the season.
“The main thing is that we’ve come away with 12 points,” said Gomez, with Jürgen Klopp’s men top of the Premier League courtesy of the win.
“I’m happy we’ve had a good run so far but it’s about continuing it now. Every game is different, we’ve had different challenges over the four games so far and it’s about adapting.
“It’s very early doors and we all know that but we want to keep the momentum going after the international break. It’s all about getting results. We’re not always going to have the best performances but we’ll take the result every day of the week.
“I think there were times last season when we might not have seen games out and we want to try to correct that this year. These could be valuable points come the end of the season.”