Jurgen Klopp described Joe Gomez as Liverpool’s “life-saver” after he helped secure their place in the Carabao Cup final on Wednesday night.
The 1-1 draw at Fulham was enough to send Klopp’s side through to the final where they will meet Chelsea on February 25 at Wembley as they progressed 3-2 on aggregate at Craven Cottage.
Gomez’s excellent campaign continued in west London as he starred on the left side of the defence in the absence of both Kostas Tsimikas and Andy Robertson, who returned to the match-day squad on the night after three months out with a shoulder injury.
The former Charlton Athletic teenager has played in all three positions across the backline this term and his display against Fulham was notable for his forays into midfield at times as he tried to get his side on the front foot against Marco Silva’s men.
Klopp was full of praise for the 26-year-old Gomez after the game, saying the Premier League leaders would not be in the position they are in without the contributions of his defender.
Without Joey nothing would have happened in the last 13 or 14 weeks pretty much while Robbo was out because of the things we could do,” Klopp said. “We could bring in Trent Alexander-Arnold in [midfield] after we brought Joey on.
