‘Twice in this half’: Cannavaro says £4m Liverpool star did something terrible in the first-half last night

Add as preferred source on Google

Legendary Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro was disappointed with the amount of times Joe Gomez lost possession for Liverpool last night.

Speaking to Amazon Prime Italia via Football Italia, Cannvaro slammed the Liverpool player and his team.

“Surely, it was a big blow for Liverpool, the players were out of position and so they conceded the second goal. As for the fourth goal, this is such an easy ball to read. Two centre-backs like those of Liverpool must be able to defend in a situation like this,” said the World Cup winner.

“They were slow mentally. Look at the goals they conceded. Gomez is an international player and he lost ball possession twice in his half.”

After a truly inept display, Gomez was mercifully hooked at half-time by Jurgen Klopp.

Gomez the worst of a bad bunch for Liverpool

Klopp gave a big show of faith in Gomez by starting him on Wednesday night. With Joel Matip back from injury, it might have been expected that the Englishman would drop to the bench.

Instead, the manager picked Gomez for the fifth straight game. In the interest of giving the 25-year-old some rhythm, it looked like a decision not too many fans would grumble at.

Gomez was also possibly Liverpool’s best player last time out against Everton. Following a couple of seasons of limited involvement, it’s nice to see him given his chance.

But after last night’s debacle, he may not get another one for a little while.

It wasn’t just the loss of possession in dangerous areas. It was Gomez’s apparent complete loss of positional awareness, his lack of strength and desire, his general disinterest.

Maybe it’s unfair to single out one player on a night where so many were horribly off-colour. But nevertheless, Gomez was rightfully taken off at half-time as he become a liability to his team.

A few Liverpool players need to do some soul-searching after a difficult evening in Naples. None more so than the man signed for £3.5m seven years ago.

You don’t become a bad player overnight and Gomez certainly isn’t one. But perhaps last night he showed why Matip and Ibrahima Konate are Klopp’s more preferred picks when everyone is fit.

Keep up to date with all the latest Liverpool news and opinion by following Rousing The Kop’s official Facebook page