‘Wins us the game’: Liverpool coach shares what he told 25-year-old player ‘straight after’ win over Spurs

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Here’s what Pep Lijnders told Joe Gomez ‘straight after’ Liverpool’s win over Tottenham Hotspur this weekend. The coach ‘loved’ what he saw.

Liverpool saw out a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday but they had to work for it. The Reds found a 2-0 lead before half-time but the second-half was a fight.

Spurs came back with force, just as Liverpool expected they would. Somehow, though, the visitors held on to register their first Premier League away win of the season.

Pep Lijnders was thrilled afterwards. He explained to Liverpoolfc.com that he took the opportunity to send a message to Joe Gomez, who played the final minutes in London.

What Pep Lijnders told Joe Gomez

“Sometimes half-time doesn’t help, but we knew they would come out in the second half, we would have to suffer, we had to defend and I love that,” said Lijnders.

“I said to Joey [Gomez] straight after the game, this is why everybody needs to be ready because he only contributed for 10 minutes, but we went to a line of five and it wins us the game.

“I am proud of the team and we need more to come.”

That versatility, the ability to throw on players and change the system, has been a hallmark of the last few weeks. We’ve seen Liverpool start with a 4-4-2, a 4-2-4, a diamond and in their usual 4-3-3. Now we’ve seen Jurgen Klopp switch to a back five to see out a game.

And that’s what you’ve got to do to find wins when you’re struggling. Everyone will contribute as Liverpool just aren’t blowing teams away right now. Instead, Klopp is making use of his available players to switch-up the gameplan every game.

Gomez was key for that against Spurs and we have no doubt that someone else will be important against Southampton next weekend.