Liverpool defender Joe Gomez struggled against Wolves after his rich vein of recent form.
Pundit and former USA international Janusz Michallik was speaking on ESPN FC after an important comeback victory for Liverpool.
Liverpool’s performance before and after half-time yesterday couldn’t have been more different.
Jurgen Klopp chose a strong side against Wolves but was forced into a few changes that saw Joe Gomez played at right-back.
Several important players arrived back late from international duty on the other side of the world.
Only Alexis Mac Allister started out of his South American cohort but he had to be replaced at half-time.
Trent Alexander-Arnold picked up a knock just before the international break which means he’ll be missing for the next few weeks.
Gomez is the most natural fit at right-back now when the 24-year-old is unavailable.
James Milner was allowed to leave and joined Premier League rivals Brighton while Calvin Ramsay was loaned out to Preston North End.
This has left the £3.5m defender filling the gap and being completely torn apart by Pedro Neto in the first half.
Speaking about the match, Michallik said: “A get out of jail card because there was no indication for me especially at the back, we know that they’re missing [Virgil] Van Dijk.
“By the way Joe Gomez came in for Van Dijk when he was red-carded in that game, [and] had a couple of good games.
“But I never get excited about Joe Gomez, no disrespect to him because today he struggled tremendously once again.
“Certainly not at right back, you know he can’t play there. Maybe at centre-half he can, Pedro Neto had his way with him on that side for sure.”
Gomez won’t want to look back at his performance for Liverpool against Wolves any time soon.
He won just three of his nine duels with Neto getting the better of him time and again.
The 26-year-old was dribbled past three times too, but in possession was very solid.
There have been question marks over Gomez’s reliability despite his recent good performances.
Klopp will want Alexander-Arnold back quickly as losing him forces him to completely change his tactics due to his hybrid role in midfield.
Gomez has a nearly impossible job trying to replace the 24-year-old although he may have also struggled against the impressive Portuguese yesterday.
