Liverpool supporters have been somewhat quieter in recent times after seeing their side suffer their first defeat of the season in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
Jurgen Klopp’s men went into their third round clash with fellow Premier League giants Chelsea having won each of their opening seven matches of the season in all competitions, six of which coming in their ascent to top spot in the league table. And in taking the lead at Anfield through striker Daniel Sturridge, they looked set to maintain their 100% start to the campaign, only for goals from Emerson Palmieri and Eden Hazard to seal a 2-1 win for Maurizio Sarri’s side, thus giving them an extra confidence boost ahead of the meeting between the two teams in the league this weekend.
As such, there have been many quieter Liverpudlians up and down the country in recent times, several of whom have been taking to Twitter to criticise the efforts of defender Dejan Lovren on Wednesday night, with many hoping that Joe Gomez reclaims his place in the starting eleven against the Blues on Saturday.
And while Lovren deserves credit for the year he has had, those Liverpool fans calling for Gomez’s return are absolutely right, as the £19.8 million-rated England international (as per Transfermarkt) has been sensational so far this season.
Ultimately, one cannot knock what centre back Lovren did last season in reaching the Champions League final with his club and then the World Cup final with Croatia, with the 29-year-old certainly benefiting from Virgil van Dijk’s arrival at Anfield in January to thus become a much better defender himself.
Yet his World Cup exertions and injury prevented Lovren from starting the season in Klopp’s side, with 21-year-old Gomez coming in and doing a stellar job to suggest that he must return to the starting line-up against Sarri’s men this weekend.
The former Charlton Athletic man enjoyed a meteoric rise last season and was arguably en route to making the England squad for the World Cup but for injury, yet he has returned this term brilliantly in striking up an excellent partnership alongside van Dijk in the heart of Klopp’s backline.
Gomez started each of their opening five Premier League games and helped the Reds to three clean sheets and just two goals against in that time, with it arguable that he actually outperformed van Dijk in the majority of those matches.
Clearly, the 21-year-old is in great form and arguably the form of his life at present, and after Lovren’s somewhat shaky return to competitive action against Chelsea on Wednesday night, Klopp certainly has a decision to make regarding who to partner van Dijk with at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
These Liverpool fans believe that there is only one answer to that question, and they are absolutely right.
Liverpool fans… what do you think? Let us know!