Liverpool defender Joe Gomez gets run out in unexpected friendly in unlikely location

Liverpool defender Joe Gomez is supposed to be relaxing on holiday while his team-mates toil at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but he couldn’t resist pulling on his boots to take part in an unusual friendly this week.

The 25-year-old jetted off to an island resort in the Maldives during the current break in the Premier League season but ended up playing with fellow holiday makers in an impromptu match.

The Kandima Maldives resort features a football pitch nestled beside the Indian Ocean and that proved too much to resist for Gomez.

He said: “It’s not often you go on holiday to somewhere as amazing and remote as the Maldives (and they have their own football pitch)! Being able to take part in a fun football match with the guests and staff at the resort, was a real highlight of the week for me!"

Liverpool will be back in action against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup on December 22, but have a couple of friendlies of their own before then. The Reds will take on Lyon and AC Milan at the Al-Maktoum Stadium in Dubai on December 11 and 16 respectively, while the World Cup draws to its conclusion in Qatar.