Klopp: Gomez not to blame for Salzburg goals.

Jurgen Klopp was satisfied with the performance of Joe Gomez against RB Salzburg in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

With Joel Matip missing the clash through injury, it presented as a ideal opportunity for the England international to get some meaningful minutes under his belt which has been rare of late.

When the Reds raced out to a three goal lead, any defensive frailties seemed to be a non-issue.

But the visitors steadily worked their way into the contest and with a hour gone, it was anyone’s game at 3-3.

Matip and Virgil Van Dijk have combined to be arguably the best central defensive partnership in Europe, but with more goals conceded than usual by a Liverpool outfit in this fixture, there were naturally going to be questions asked.

However Klopp said any blame should not be put at the feet of Gomez.

The Official site reported the manager as saying:

“It would be really not fair to make Joe responsible for the goals we conceded, that was not the case.

“That players who didn't play together for a while need a bit of time to get used to each other again, that's completely normal.

“ But especially in the first half an hour, nobody could see any issues between the two boys, we were just exceptional for the first half an hour and these two guys as well.

 What makes this game especially difficult was the fact that how Salzburg defended. 

 Each ball they won, there were not a lot in the first half an hour, but all balls were directly in behind the line and the runs they do are   really good.

“In these situations, Joe did outstandingly well because of his speed, the challenges he had. The goals we conceded later were for different reasons."

Klopp described how Salzburg were able to work their way into the contest.

“ We lost the ball in a situation. So losing a ball is always difficult but it's always a challenge you face in a football game.

“But then you should lose it in the right moment because then you still have kind of a formation behind that. 

“ If everybody is expecting that we keep the ball and pass it through, then you are wide as a formation and then you can come in situations where the opponent can score.

“That happened, I think, at least two times in that game.

"That, in the first place, has nothing to do with the centre-halves, they are always the last ones who face the challenge. But usually we have to sort that early. 

But Klopp believed that Gomez would be much better for the hit out and with Matip ruled out of today’s fixture with Leicester, he will get another opportunity to build his confidence.

“So, I was fine with his performance and it helps, of course, getting minutes, it's always good. That's a challenge having not the best rhythm then maybe you need minutes but he had them, so all good.