Liverpool defender Joe Gomez opens up about his return to Starting XI

Centre-back Joe Gomez has finally got into Liverpool Starting XI after being sidelined for months due to a serious knee injury. The defender made his first competitive start since November 2020 in the Reds’ thrilling 3-2 Champions League victory over AC Milan on Wednesday. On the back of his midweek performance, Gomez is now setting his sights on the next challenge against Crystal Palace at Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday. Speaking about the AC Milan clash, he told the club website, “Obviously it was a special moment for me.”

“I spent a lot of months and hours in the gym envisaging being back. To be back under those circumstances – our first Champions League game back with fans since the pandemic – it was a special moment. I think the boys put in a great performance and it’s important to get that first three points in the group. It was interesting! Obviously we’d have preferred it being a bit more peaceful at the back!

“But playing against top opposition like AC Milan, we’re going to have our tests and thankfully the boys put in such a good performance that we came through the other side with three points. That’s down to the ability of our attacking players and obviously the skipper scored a great goal. Overall, a good night. I think the main thing is the three points and there’s definitely lessons to learn from it, but it was a good night’s work.”

‘It was a moment I waited a long time’

Joe Gomez also opened up about how he felt while playing the match. “Obviously there was a lot going through my mind. There’s a lot of aspects to it mentally when you haven’t played for so long, a lot of visioning different scenarios. But once you get out there and with the noise and the atmosphere behind you, a lot of that goes out of the window. I enjoyed it. Obviously I’ve got a lot of gratitude to be back out there. Like I said, it was a moment I waited a long time for, so I really enjoyed the night,” he explained.

Joe Gomez only had good words to say about his centre-back partner Joel Matip. “Joel is unbelievable. He’s got so many attributes that, I think, sometimes don’t get praised enough. Like you say, he, too, had a pretty long-term injury, and to start the season the way he has and the form he’s in just shows how good a player he is. Obviously he’s quite a discreet guy and stays a bit in the background, but he deserves all the praise because he’s a great person and a top, top player. Like Virg, another one for me to learn from, too,” he added.

He also spoke about the importance to follow up the AC Milan result with a strong showing against Palace this weekend. “The focus switches straight away. It’s a pretty intense period, so there’s not much time to get many sessions in between games. But psychologically we have to switch straight away back to the Premier League, and it’s no easy task. Palace is never an easy game; they always make it difficult for us. They’ve got some really good individual players and straightaway the focus turns to that. We obviously want to continue the momentum and carry on from the positive result on the weekend,” he added.