Arne Slot made to pay for ridiculous Joe Gomez decision as Liverpool learn extent of defensive woes - opinion

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Who was your man of the match during Liverpool’s impressive 2-0 win over Brighton? But to add to the annoyance, this injury could have been avoided had Arne Slot simply taken his own advice this week.Joe Gomez should not have played against Inter MilanPart of the reason Gomez started against Brighton was because Conor Bradley was suspended for the match.Slot had known since last Saturday that Bradley would be unable to play in this one, meaning Gomez was always going to have to feature at right-back.Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty ImagesREAD MORE: Jamie Carragher responds to what Liverpool fans did during Mohamed Salah’s comeback at AnfieldDespite being armed with that knowledge, Slot inexplicably chose to start Gomez during Tuesday’s win against Inter Milan.Given Bradley’s unavailability for the weekend, it would surely have made much more sense to play the Northern Irishman in the Champions League.As it turned out, Gomez played more than an hour in Milan, meaning the injury-prone stalwart had racked up 245 minutes across four games in just nine days.

And after Slot’s admission that Gomez is unlikely to be ready for next weekend’s visit to Tottenham, Liverpool’s defensive worries have just got a whole lot deeper on the back of it. Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty ImagesWill he play for Liverpool again? 👇 Join the debate; share your insight.

Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say How long will Gomez be missing for?Speaking to LFCTV post-match, Slot even admitted that it had been a risk to play Gomez as much as he has been doing.“People now maybe understand a bit better why I was always so cautious not to play him so many games,” he said. “I assume many people thought, ‘If you have a defender, if you have a right full-back, why don’t you play him?'”While what the Liverpool head coach is saying is true, it makes little sense that he decided to abandon this principle over Gomez in the one match he didn’t need to play him in.Liverpool are set to learn the true extent of losing the former Charlton man at this time.