Joe Gomez finally had the feeling of scoring a goal in front of the Kop on Wednesday as he buried a tremendously taken penalty into the top corner against Chelsea.

Gomez‘s kick ended up being the winner for Liverpool, and it clearly meant so much to the Reds’ longest serving player. Taking to Instagram after the game, Gomez queried whether the goal would count towards his tally for Liverpool, which currently stands at 0 in 280 appearances.

Gomez scored for Liverpool U23s in 2017

Rewind all the way back to March 2017, and Gomez was still only 19, despite nearing two years playing for Liverpool. Though he was a first-team player, injuries had already taken hold of the defender, and in order to work his way back to fitness, he played against Reading for the Reds’ U23s.

Starting alongside Nat Phillips, who would go on to play 29 times for Liverpool himself, Gomez scored during an easy 5-1 win.

It was a brilliant goal too, as Liverpool’s official X account reminded supporters on Thursday, posting a clip of Gomez’s perfectly struck volley from a Harry Wilson corner.

Watching the flight of the ball all the way, the former Charlton star opened his body up and fired a right-footed effort into the roof of the net flush on the volley. Just like his penalty against Chelsea, this was not the finish of a player who does not know how to finish.

Phillips also scored, while there was a double for then 16-year-old Rhian Brewster, who underlined his status as one of the country’s top young players to watch.

Though he could not fulfill that potential, others in the Liverpool squad that night certainly did. Alexander-Arnold played less than five months after making his first-team debut, while Kelleher was on the bench behind Kamil Grabara.

Kelleher was still two-and-a-half years from making his own debut, with Grabara preferred. Though the Pole never made an appearance for Liverpool, he has gone on to have a good career, and is currently with Juventus.

The same is certainly true of Wilson, who captained Liverpool on this particular night, while Sheyi Ojo, starting on the left wing, has clocked up over 300 professional appearances in six different countries.

Ben Woodburn was Liverpool’s youngest ever goal scorer until Rio Ngumoha came along, and he got one here as well, with Marko Grujic and Kevin Stewart – 36 Reds appearances between them – completed the midfield.

Even Conor Randall, starting at left-back, made eight senior outings for Liverpool and has carved out a good career up in Scotland.

From all of the players in the first-team at this time, and of course those he shared the pitch with at youth level, Gomez is the only one still at the club. Looking at everything that has happened since his beautifully timed volley against Reading really demonstrates just how long the England international has been with Liverpool, and how long he has waited to feel that feeling of scoring a goal once again. Hopefully one more is to come, but, if not, a penalty in front of an adoring Kop will have to do.