Reds manager Jurgen Klopp has insisted that Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez can play “sensationally well” together at the heart of Liverpool’s defense amid injuries.
With Cameroonian center back Joel Matip and Croatian defender Dejan Lovren injured, Van Dijk and Gomez started in the center of defense in the European champions’ 2-0 Premier League win over Watford on Saturday at Anfield.
The 22-year-old Gomez had been a regular alongside Van Dijk at the start of last season before he suffered a fractured leg last December.
Klopp said he had spoken regularly with Gomez and believes the England international’s partnership with the PFA Player of last season, Van Dijk, can flourish for the future as well.
While speaking to reporters, the 52-year-old German manager explained that Gomez is incredibly talented and should be able to partner Van Dijk amid the injuries in the current first-team squad for the Reds, “We spoke, we spoke a lot. In a very good team, which we obviously are, the train doesn’t wait. That means other players showed up, and I don’t think anybody thought really we should put Joel on the bench. It is just that the boys are incredibly talented.
Klopp further explained that Gomez needs a bit more football on a regular basis and the duo works well together, “The boy is still young, that is not the reason – it’s just that you keep a rhythm and you keep players together. But these two, Joe and Virg, they like each other a lot, and they can play sensationally well together.”
Gomez and Van Dijk helped the Premier League leaders hold out Watford as Liverpool moved 10 points clear at the top of the table.
