Andoni Iraola has explained his reasoning for substituting Joe Gomez at half-time in Liverpool 's 3-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night.
The long-serving defender had missed the opening weeks of the campaign due to an injury sustained in pre-season , but he made his return to action in the Carabao Cup as part of a much-changed line-up .
The 29-year-old played for 45 minutes against Spurs before he was withdrawn at the interval, with Jeremy Jacquet coming on in his place.
Any fears that Gomez may have suffered a recurrence of his previous injury were put to bed by Iraola after the match, with the head coach revealing that his intention was to play the Reds' number 2 for roughly 45 minutes and see how he fared.
When asked if the half-time substition was pre-planned, the Basque replied (via liverpoolfc.com ): "Yes. Joe has been doing the recovery process very well and with him it made sense. It wasn't set but the plan was not a lot more than 45, yes."
(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
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With Gomez having had numerous injury problems in the past and not played since the last weekend of July, it always seemed unlikely that he'd play the full match against Spurs, and even getting half the game under his belt should stand to him.
He was steady if unspectacular as he captained the Reds upon his return to action, with Liverpool Echo writer Ian Doyle handing him 6/10 in his post-match player ratings as he 'kept things simple defensively' throughout his time on the pitch.
He fulfilled his core duties with commendable consistency, racking up four clearances, two blocks and one interception in 45 minutes ( Sofascore ) as he eased his way back into action.
Gomez will probably revert to the substitutes' bench for the Premier League visit to Bournemouth on Sunday, with Virgil van Dijk and Jacquet set to be the centre-back partnership and Ronald Araujo likely to be restored to the right flank.
He can still be pleased with how he performed last night as he got back onto the pitch and handed Liverpool a most welcome addition to their defensive options with a hectic fixture schedule on the horizon once the upcoming international window is completed.
