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Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate celebrate with the trophy after winning the Carabao Cup after the Carabao Cup Final match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley Stadium on February 25, 2024 in London, England. | Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images
The English defender spoke to the press after Liverpool’s historic 10th League Cup
Speaking after Liverpool’s League Cup triumph Sunday night, defender Joe Gomez — who filled in at various roles against Chelsea — heaped a lot of praise on the traveling Kop:
“Honestly, I’m not one for cliches but I generally think we have the best in the world.
“It’s credit to them. I hope they realize that and how much it means to us. We just get that [boost] and it helps us so much. That is one thing we are all grateful for.”
Wembley was very noisy, and ever more so in the period leading up to the goal, when fans took to repeated airings of “Allez Allez Allez.”
After the match the players and staff stood together to sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” with the fans.
“The gaffer leads us in those moments and he has the mindfulness to say, ‘Let’s enjoy this moment’ and rightly so,” said Gomez.
“The fans are the reason why we do it. Not to speak in cliches but it is the truth. We have to enjoy it.
“We are still in the middle of the season and it’s not done but if we don’t savor these moments what do we do it for? To do it with the fans is another bit of history.”
Speaking of head coach Jürgen Klopp, Gomez did briefly discuss what his departure means for the team:
“It’s kind of like it is obvious, it doesn’t need to be spoken about. Everyone knows about the importance and we get that aura anyway in team meetings at the minute. We know it’s that last hurrah and we just want to give our all for him. We always did but now when the finishing line is in sight it adds that extra emphasis.
“It’s special and hopefully it’s the first of a few we can get this year.”
He added: “We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves but we are in every competition and we are going to try to win every game. That’s the target and we will go again.
“We have a game again in three days so we’ll have to band the boys together and see what we can do.”
It’s due to Klopp, of course, that so many young Academy players were on the pitch at the final whistle.
“It’s credit to the gaffer. He makes the younger lads come and feel so confident and comfortable to make the impact they made.
“A lot of us have been nurtured by him and he’s unbelievable at that. He’s such a great manager and creates an environment where the boys can come in and express themselves. That’s down to him.
“It’s special for the young boys, they deserve a big mention as they came in for a cup final and all of us feel that [pressure] so they will too. I hope they can enjoy it.”
