View: Arne Slot should drop 33% Joe Gomez for Everton v Liverpool
Liverpool manager Arne Slot should drop Joe Gomez when his side travel to Everton on Saturday after his performance in the 3-3 draw with Newcastle United.
The Reds’ lead at the summit of the Premier League was cut to seven points after the stalemate at St James’ Park.
Mohamed Salah put Slot’s side into the lead with a stunning double after they found themselves 2-1 down with just under half an hour left, before Caoimhin Kelleher misjudged a free-kick and allowed Fabian Schar to equalise in the 90th minute.
The Merseysiders were not at the races for the majority of the contest. The whole team was sloppy and tired and Gomez epitomised a player who has only played five times in the Premier League this season.
Joe Gomez looked rusty for Liverpool v Newcastle United
The 27-year-old was brilliant in the victory over Manchester City on Sunday (1 December) but that performance level was not on show against Newcastle.
The Charlton academy product who was linked with an Anfield exit in the summer, was poor on the ball and even worse without it as the Magpies constantly found success against the England international.
It culminated in a second goal for Eddie Howe’s side as Anthony Gordon twisted and turned Gomez to slot home and put the hosts back in the lead and he was soon substituted off for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who sparked the Reds fightback with two assists.
The 15-cap international recorded a 91 per cent passing accuracy, misplacing just five of his attempts. However, when he tried to expand the play, it was miserable, with just one accurate long ball out of four attempts for a 25 per cent success rate. [Fotmob]
Defensively, he made zero tackles, two blocks, five clearances, one interception but was dribbled past twice, most notably for Gordon’s goal.
In terms of duels, he won just one of the three ground duels attempted for a 33 per cent success rate, which is poor when compared to Ibrahima Konate’s league average of 71.6 per cent.
The Reds will miss Konate while he is absent but Gomez must step up in his place or he will lose his spot to Jarell Quansah.
In other Liverpool news, the Reds face a decision on Jayden Danns’ future at the club.
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