Former Manchester United midfielder Angel Gomes has downplayed the atmosphere at Anfield ahead of facing Liverpool in the Champions League later this season
Former Manchester United midfielder Angel Gomes
Former Manchester United midfielder Angel Gomes (Image: Getty Images)
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Liverpool host Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday, and will be looking to extend a nine-year unbeaten run at home against their bitter-rivals. From the last 10 meetings between the two sides on Merseyside, the Reds have won five and drawn five with the most memorable meeting being their 7-0 thrashing of the Red Devils in March 2023.
You have to go back to January 2016 for the last time United won at Anfield. Wayne Rooney scored a late winner when Jurgen Klopp took charge in the fixture for the first time, having taken over as Liverpool manager the previous October.
With the Reds having lost their last three games, United will be looking to take advantage and end the drought on Sunday. But one of their former players has his own clash with Liverpool to look forward to later in the season.
Angel Gomes joined Marseille on a free transfer from Lille last summer, and is set to face off against the Reds in the Champions League in January with Arne Slot’s side due to travel to the south of France for their penultimate league phase game.
The England international has made seven appearances for the French outfit to date, scoring one goal, with three of his appearances coming at Stade Velodrome. Having also played there twice as a Lille player, Gomes has seen enough to label it one of the three best stadiums in Europe.
“When you play in the Champions League and you get good results, everyone sees it,” he told Le Phoccen. “Here, it's really special. The connection between the fans, the players, the club.
“In England, of course, we breathe football. But in Marseille, it's something unique. And to understand that, you have to come here, go to the Velodrome, see it, feel the atmosphere.
“Only there do you understand what Marseille is, especially if you compare it with England. Personally, I think the Velodrome is one of the best stadiums in Europe, in the top three."
And when pushed further, he admitted he considers it to be better than the likes of Anfield and St. James’ Park.
"Personally, yes, (it’s a better atmosphere than Anfield and St. James’ Park),” he said. “I've played in those stadiums, but the Velodrome... you have to be there to understand."
Fair enough, Gomes is entitled to his opinion. And as a new signing at Marseille, he will inevitably want to make a good impression both on and off the pitch.
You cannot dispute how impressive the Velodrome is either. But there is one flaw with Gomes’ claim. He has not actually played at either Anfield or St. James’ Park.
The closest he came to playing away at Liverpool came last season in the Champions League with Lille, but he was left as an unused substitute back in January. Likewise, an unused substitute appearance away at Newcastle with Manchester United in October 2019 is the limit of his action at St. James’ Park.
Making 10 senior appearances during his time with the Red Devils, starting only three times - all in the Europa League - eight of his outings came against English opposition. He made six outings at Old Trafford, one at West Ham’s London Stadium and one at Yeovil Town’s Huish Park.
Meanwhile, he also made a late substitute appearance away at Aston Villa for Lille in the Europa League in April 2024, and made two appearances for England at Wembley in the Nations League against Finland and the Republic of Ireland.
That is the limit of his game-time in senior football at English stadiums.
Sure, you have to be there at the Velodrome 'to understand'. But the same is also true of Anfield, and a plethora of other stadiums in English football that Gomes hasn’t actually played at.