{"id":808844,"date":"2026-03-06T22:50:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T22:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/808844\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T22:50:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T22:50:23","slug":"stephen-warnock-states-what-liverpool-are-better-at-when-joe-gomez-plays-instead-of-ibrahima-konate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/808844\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Warnock states what Liverpool are better at when Joe Gomez plays instead of Ibrahima Konate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\/ Add as preferred source on Google <\/a> <\/p>\n

While watching Liverpool in action against Wolves, former Red Stephen Warnock came to a rather surprising conclusion about Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konate. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Arne Slot chose to rotate somewhat for a second trip to Molineux in four days. One change he made was to bring in Gomez in place of Konate.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the right call, especially with Galatasaray in the Champions League<\/a> right around the corner. <\/p>\n

But it didn\u2019t raise concerns given how experienced Gomez is, and Warnock reckons it actually makes Liverpool<\/a> better in possession. <\/p>\n

What is the cause of Liverpool\u2019s historically bad late-game management? \ud83d\udc40 <\/p>\n

Is it complacency, lack of focus, or are they just rattled beyond repair?<\/p>\n

Wolves\u2019 injury-time winner is the fifth against Liverpool this season \u2014 the most in PL history \ud83d\ude2c<\/p>\n

\"VirgilPhoto by Liverpool FC\/Liverpool FC via Getty Images Stephen Warnock prefers Joe Gomez to Ibrahima Konate on the ball <\/p>\n

Gomez is the longest-serving Red still at Anfield<\/a>, and he has proven himself an invaluable utility player who can cover in defensive areas. <\/p>\n

But aside from the need for rotation, there might be certain games where he is the better pick than his French teammate. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s what Warnock has written for BBC Sport<\/a>. He explained: \u201cJoe Gomez is more suited to being a centre-back. He has been asked many times to play at right-back. <\/p>\n

\"JoePhoto by Michael Regan\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Liverpool are better in possession when he plays rather than Konate.\u201d <\/p>\n

Konate is still a Liverpool player<\/a> for now, and will be the first choice until he decides to depart. But in games like the one against Wolves, where the main task is to break down a stubborn low block, he might not be the best pick. <\/p>\n

You can\u2019t fault Konate\u2019s<\/a> defending and staggering physicality, but his composure and distribution can be lacking. <\/p>\n

Joe Gomez could yet stay at Liverpool this summer <\/p>\n

Before the start of the season, Gomez<\/a> had one foot out the door. <\/p>\n

A move never materialised, and the going theory all season has been that he will be heading for the exit. <\/p>\n

How do you think Liverpool should handle the contract situations of Konate, Van Dijk, and Gomez? <\/p>\n

Van Dijk (2027), Gomez (2027) and Konate (2026) are all out of contract soon!<\/p>\n

\"VirgilCredit: Liverpool FC\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a given, though. Still just 28, he has more to give. If he can accept the squad role, there\u2019s no reason he shouldn\u2019t be considered to stay past the end of the season. <\/p>\n

Jeremy Jacquet\u2019s return date is uncertain<\/a>, as is Giovanni Leoni\u2019s. If they aren\u2019t going to be ready to go from matchday 1 next season, it might be wise to keep Gomez for another season. <\/p>\n

Join Our Newsletter<\/p>\n

Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Add as preferred source on Google While watching Liverpool in action against Wolves, former Red Stephen Warnock came…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":808845,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,393,4884,10307,14207,179,174939,16,15],"class_list":["post-808844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-liverpool","tag-britain","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-ibrahima-konate","tag-joe-gomez","tag-liverpool","tag-stephen-warnock","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116184680388214349","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=808844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/808845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=808844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=808844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=808844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}