Joe Gomez reveals Liverpool dressing room reaction to Anfield boos | OneFootball

Joe Gomez said the boos from Liverpool fans hurt the players as the Anfield crowd turned on Arne Slot and his team during and following Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea.

Supporters showed their unhappiness at Slot’s decision to substitute Rio Ngumoha in the second half and then at the final whistle.

Defender Gomez, who is Liverpool’s longest-serving player, said their stars should leave Anfield if they were not upset by the reaction of the crowd and revealed that there have been many discussions behind the scenes as they have tried to improve their form this season.

Liverpool have lost 18 games in all competitions and are still to clinch a top-five finish, meaning Gomez understood why fans are annoyed.

“We feel it,” he said. “It's the last thing we want. For us older boys who have experienced so many good times here it does hurt. If it didn't then you shouldn't still be here.

“The main thing is that we're a team and we understand that in the dressing room we don't come in after a result like that without disappointment. There's frustrations and there's been plenty of voices and discussions and meetings from different people – staff, players. Black and white now, we need Champions League football, that’s the objective.”

Gomez, who came on for the closing stages on Saturday, said he could see why supporters did not want Ngumoha to go off, but also why Slot had to remove the 17-year-old winger.

He added: “To give a perspective, from the bench, Rio he's young and he played in the high-intense game. I don't know how many games he started this year but physically, he was tired, and I think those are the subtle things behind the scenes you probably don't realise.

“But we get it: Rio is a top player and as the ability to a bright, bright star for us in the future. But it was the later stages of the game and he’s tired. But I get it: he's flying, he looks good for us, he’s a big threat and if he comes off it’s like ‘Oh’ and the fans are entitled to that opinion.”

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Gomez feels Liverpool are in a Catch-22 situation with their style of play when the crowd want to see more urgency and intensity but Slot’s more controlled tactics helped them win the title.

He explained: “I think we have to remember that tactically we made a step last year which was very effective and one of the strengths of our coaching staff is to adapt every game and try and expose and overload in certain areas and that that is a different style to the faster pace.

“We get that sometimes it's not as fluid or as high intensity on the ball as always. It does get frustrating when it gets fragmented but there’s also been times when it’s controlled the game, not as much this year.

“It’s a Catch 22 sometimes when you're trying to control the game, keep possession, but we expect to dominate possession percentage-wise any game we’re in but that isn't always high-paced, trying to thread the ball in behind and score.”