Liverpool's 4-4 draw against relegated Southampton on the final day of the 2022/23 Premier League season typified the tumultuous nature of their campaign, illuminating the good, the bad and the inscrutable.

Jurgen Klopp's side have been imperious over the past several years, but this term they surged down a rutted road with no seatbelt and have consequently been left in disarray, failing to qualify for next year's Champions League for the first time in seven years.

Victory on the south coast would not have affected the Reds' final league standing, but it underscored the issues that are very much omnipresent within Klopp's squad, pervading like an acrid smell despite constructing a late-season purple patch that saw seven victories on the trot ended by successive draws to close the campaign.

The offensive impetus was intact at St. Mary's Stadium and is not the area of attention heading into the summer transfer window. Rather, the shambolic defensive issues were on full show and will have reminded Klopp and co that changes need to be made shortly, and while captain Jordan Henderson will be chastised for his "dreadful" error by The Athletic's James Pearce, Joe Gomez was at the epicentre.

How did Joe Gomez perform vs Southampton?

Gomez, integral in gleaning the Premier League and Champions League for his Anfield side, must now be sold after another howler; he is simply submerged in depths too great to overcome as his manager seeks an apt route back toward success.

The £95k-per-week dynamo did not cut the mustard against Southampton and was branded a lowly 6.3 match rating by Sofascore, winning just two of his six duels, and while he completed 93% of his passes and succeeded with five of his six attempted long balls, he was unable to stop the torrent that allowed the home side to clamber back from two goals down to lead 4-2.

Perhaps the most telling part of the display was Gomez's actual defensive contribution, with one clearance and one interception the extent of his work, failing to make a tackle and leaving LFC podcaster Graeme Kelly branding him as "finished".

Goal's Neil Jones gave the one-time Charlton Athletic prospect a 5/10 match rating and said that he was 'nowhere near commanding enough', and that sums it up when considering the calibre of centre-back Liverpool need to return to former glory.

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Gomez must be granted sympathy for his woes; he has fallen prey to three serious injuries during his time at Liverpool and has undoubtedly and understandably been hampered by the setbacks, but after the Reds' shambolic collective season, Klopp must be ruthless as he crafts a formula to take his team back to the forefront.

He was incisive before, signing Allison for £67m after Loris Karius suffered the ignominy of an error-strewn Champions League final in 17/18, and must do so again in the forthcoming transfer market.

Gomez has actually been mooted for a move away from Anfield over the past few months too, with top four high-fliers Newcastle United linked with the 26-year-old over the past few months, Magpies manager Eddie Howe seemingly a 'big fan' of the 11-cap England international.

Liverpool are at a definitive moment and are indeed presented with an opportunity to reassemble the squad ready to compete for major honours once again, and while Gomez has been a stalwart for his Merseyside outfit, he may well have played his last after yet another dismal display.