Liverpool centre-back Joe Gomez is on the way to becoming the best defender in England according to BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand.
The Reds went into tonight’s fixture knowing that they needed a win to avoid any chance of elimination from the Champions League, which would be far worse than last season’s progression all the way to the final. Unfortunately for Jurgen Klopp’s side, they lost 2-1 to the reigning French champions.
The England international didn’t have the best game this evening against a tough Paris Saint-Germain side but did his best to limit the chances for the likes of Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe.
Talking in the pre-match build-up on BT Sport, Ferdinand discussed the abilities of Gomez and how he believes the youngster will develop into the best defender in England.
Ferdinand said: “He had a big injury when he signed. He’s shown character to come back and like he said this is his first full season.
“Yes, he’s going to make mistakes, positionally because he’s a young defender. But the raw material he’s got, the pace, the power, desire and he’s aggressive.
“He’s very cool under pressure, great on the ball, plays off both feet and he has the pace to make recovering tackles. If he does make a positional error, at the moment he’s been able to get out of trouble with that pace.
“But listen, this kid for me is on the march to be the best defender in we’ve got in England.
“I rate him so highly. He’s calm, he’s cool and you need that when you’re under pressure.
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Why did Gomez start ahead of Alexander-Arnold in Paris?
Before his glowing review of the Liverpool centre-back, Ferdinand also explained why he may have been picked ahead of his compatriot at full-back.
When Lineker posed the question of whether Klopp thinks Gomez could handle the threat of Neymar better than Alexander-Arnold, Ferdinand was quick to defend the Reds defender.
Ferdinand added: “Maybe, but Trent did well in the first game at Anfield so I think Trent’s more than capable of handling Neymar on his day.
“Listen, I think Gomez is much quicker, stronger, I think defensively he has that head on to play right-back and also they’ve got the Merseyside derby at the weekend so maybe [Klopp] is thinking ahead to that.”
Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen also contributed to the discussion, believing that his former side have gone for a more conservative formation and tactical change in respect to the attacking abilities that embed the PSG line-up.
Owen added: “It’s a more respectful team though I think from Jurgen Klopp. Gomez is probably seen as more of a defensive [kind of] right-back.”
This season in the Champions League, Alexander Arnold has played four matches, averaging 2.5 tackles, 0.8 interceptions, 1.5 clearances in those games.
In contrast, Gomez has also made four appearances (one from the bench), averaging one tackle, 0.8 interceptions and three clearances in those games.
There isn’t much between the two talented Englishman so Alexander-Arnold can feel slightly unfortunate not to start this evening.
The post Liverpool’s “fearless” Joe Gomez backed to become England’s best defender appeared first on Squawka News.
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