“Wouldn’t start for Everton”, “Should consider Love Island” – Liverpool fans slam 25-year-old for woeful display in 3-0 loss at Brighton

Liverpool fans were furious with Joe Gomez after his performance in the side's 3-0 thrashing at Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday (January 14). It was the Reds' sixth defeat of the season.

Brighton attacker Solly March grabbed himself a second-half double in style before substitute Danny Welbeck netted the third. It means the Seagulls have now taken four points off Jurgen Klopp's side after their 3-3 draw at Anfield in October.

Liverpool fans were rightfully dismayed by the performance of their players in their loss to Roberto De Zerbi's side. However, Gomez, 25, particularly drew fans' ire with a poor defensive display. The versatile English defender was brought on in the 69th minute to replace Joel Matip. He lost possession twice, and the goalscorers March and Welbeck caused him problems galore.

He was seen wanting when Welbeck flicked the ball over him before striking past Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker for Brighton's third. Some fans are disputing whether Gomez should even start for the Reds' struggling neighbours Everton.

Another fan was scathing in his assessment by suggesting that the player should apply for the British reality TV show Love Island. Gomez's outing seemed to suggest that the player had enjoyed the FIFA World Cup break too much.

Here are some reactions from fans on Twitter following Gomez's disappointing showing:

The Reds sit eighth after their defeat to Brighton, trailing fourth-placed Newcastle United by seven points. Klopp's side have a mountain to climb to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

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Liverpool manager bemoans Brighton defeat

Jurgen Klopp was shocked by the Reds' defeat.

Klopp was surprised by his men's loss against the Seagulls and slammed how they performed. He said that there was no sign that such a performance was coming (via This is Anfield):

“I had absolutely no sign for this performance before the game, but that’s probably how it is sometimes. There was nothing that I thought yesterday or this morning that it could happen."

The German manager continued by explaining that he knew that the game would be difficult, but the Merseysiders made life harder for themselves:

“I knew it would be difficult against Brighton, but it’s not that they are always coming through with everything. We won balls; we had possession, but we lost the balls too easy – my god. Then you cannot be protected in these moments."

However, the German was quite upbeat about turning things around following the setback:

“To improve from today should not be too difficult.”

Liverpool will next face Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday (January 17) in the FA Cup third round replay. They will then host Chelsea at Anfield on Saturday (January 21) with both sides needing a win.