Arne Slot with Joe Gomez at the end of the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester City FC at Anfield on December 01, 2024
Gomez prompts transfer relief
No Ibrahima Konate, no problem. And how Liverpool absorbed another injury setback provided further evidence this is a squad capable of going the distance.
The absence of Konate – unlikely to be seen again until the New Year due to a knee injury – meant a first Premier League start at centre-back for Joe Gomez since the visit of Aston Villa on September 3 2023.
It’s a curious coincidence that Konate hasn’t yet featured in a home league game against Manchester City and Gomez ensured his unavailability wasn’t keenly felt, calmly slotting in alongside Virgil van Dijk to rekindle the partnership that was at the heart of Liverpool’s last successful title tilt in 2019/20. To think he could easily have departed for Newcastle United during the summer.
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Van Dijk, though, was the stellar defensive performer, dominating the ineffective Erling Haaland and a threat at the other end at set-pieces. When he did make a blunder late on to gift Kevin De Bruyne a run on goal, he was bailed out by the otherwise bored Caoimhin Kelleher.
That it was only the second save of note the goalkeeper had to make speaks volumes for the ability of Liverpool to lock down their rearguard and plug holes. City had 66% possession second half but rarely looked like scoring.
Credit, too, for Jarell Quansah who, with Conor Bradley injured, deputised for a tired Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back and helped Liverpool secure a seventh clean sheet in 13 Premier League games this season.
Szoboszlai proves Slot right
If eyebrows were raised among Liverpool supporters at one selection from Arne Slot, they soon changed to hands being put in the air – both in celebration and acceptance at another correct call from the Dutchman.
Few would argue Curtis Jones has been one of the Reds’ best performers in the last six weeks and once again delivered in the Champions League win over Real Madrid in midweek.
But the homegrown midfielder was benched with Dominik Szoboszlai restored to the starting line-up after his goalscoring outing at Southampton the previous weekend.
If Szoboszlai felt he had a point to prove, he certainly made it. From the opening exchanges, the Hungarian, as on the South Coast, assumed the mantle as the leader of the press, constantly nicking the ball ahead of City players, harassing them out of possession and helping set the tempo for Liverpool’s smothering start.
Only Gomez had more touches of the ball, Van Dijk was the sole player to win more aerial challenges, nobody had more shots on target and, with four, Szoboszlai played the most key passes of any player on either side.
And in the final moments, it was the 23-year-old who was prompting cheers from the crowd by closing down City defenders. Once again, Slot was right.
Salah gotta Salah
Rarely a Premier League game now goes by without Mohamed Salah later reflecting on it perhaps being the last chance he features in a specific fixture as a Liverpool player.
Given the ongoing impasse over his new deal, it’s factually correct given the Egyptian will at present walk away for nothing at the end of the season. Indeed, his latest comments have hinted his future won’t be resolved either way until then.
But in terms of performance and contributions, it is having only a positive effect. Here Salah once again excelled with a superb assist and coolly-taken spot kick – all the more so given he’d missed one against Real Madrid four days earlier – taking him on to 13 goals and 11 assists in 20 games this season, 11 of his strikes coming in the Premier League, moving him just one behind leading scorer Erling Haaland.
In terms of proving he deserves a new deal, the 32-year-old can’t do much more. And if this ultimately is his last appearance at home to City, he marked it in exactly the same way as his first. Enjoy him while you still can, folks.