7 duels won: Lewis Steele heaps praise on Liverpool hero who ‘rarely puts a foot wrong’
Lewis Steele saluted one Liverpool player who ‘rarely puts a foot wrong’ after the Reds’ penalty shootout triumph over Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
The tie was eventually settled in sudden death as Joe Gomez – who’s still yet to score for LFC in 280 appearances – buried his kick into the top corner of the net and Wesley Fofana then missed the target completely with his attempt.
The 29-year-old elicited one of the biggest cheers of the night when he converted his penalty, capping a fine performance as he made the most of his recall to the starting XI at right-back.
Steele heaps praise on Joe Gomez
Taking to X just after the shootout ended, Steele applauded Liverpool’s longest-serving current player for his efforts on Wednesday, and indeed throughout his 11-and-a-bit seasons with the Reds so far.
The Daily Mail reporter posted: ‘Putting aside the fact he morphed into a top striker for a second, what a night from Joe Gomez. No matter how many injuries he has or how little he plays, he very, very rarely puts a foot wrong.’
Gomez deserves his big moment at Anfield
When seeing the confident manner with which he dispatched his penalty, it seems astonishing that the 29-year-old has never scored for Liverpool throughout all his time at the club, so it was wonderful to see him getting that moment in front of the Kop.
As Steele referenced, the defender has had more than his fair share of injury woe over the years – he missed the start of the campaign with a body blow he shipped during the pre-season tour to the United States – and he richly deserves his moment in the sun after last night.
Gomez was terrific throughout the game against Chelsea, earning an 8/10 from Liverpool Echo reporter Ian Doyle in his post-match player ratings as he enjoyed a compelling tussle with Blues attacker Morgan Rogers.
As per Sofascore, the long-serving defender won seven duels and two tackles on Wednesday, along with putting in a dangerous cross for Ronald Araujo’s chance in the second half.
The Reds’ number 2 could well revert to the substitutes’ bench for the weekend showdown against Arsenal, but last night he once again demonstrated his reliability to Liverpool and showed why he’s so adored by the Kop, giving everything for the cause even when his game-time is sporadic.
