Gomez “better than good” after Sterling clash

London: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said Friday that defender Joe Gomez was “better than good” after his altercation with England teammate Raheem Sterling earlier this month.

Manchester City forward Sterling initially clashed with Reds defender Gomez towards the end of the Premier League match between the sides on November 10 at Anfield.

The pair were then involved in a fracas the following day on England duty, with Sterling later apologising at a team meeting and on social media.

Sterling subsequently sat out England’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro as punishment but returned to the starting line-up in the 4-0 victory over Kosovo on Sunday.

Klopp said Gomez, who was left with a scratch on his face following the clash, was fine and the German had no issues with how the situation was handled.

“He is good, better than good,” Klopp said at his prematch press conference, anxious to downplay the incident.

“The people involved were fine pretty quick,” he added. “Things like this happen in a football environment, that’s how it is.

“(England manager) Gareth (Southgate) and the English FA (Football Association) dealt with it in a way they thought was right and I cannot judge that because I was not in the situation but the most important thing is that the players are absolutely OK.”

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, speaking at his own press conference later, said Sterling was “good” after the incident.

“I spoke with him and he’s fine and he says Joe is an excellent guy and they have a good relationship,” he said.

Klopp said it was good to see Jose Mourinho back in the Premier League after he replaced Mauricio Pochettino in the Tottenham hot seat but had warm words for the Argentine.