Cody Gakpo has just made his Liverpool debut in the match against Wolverhampton in the third round of the FA Cup. Although the performance was not too impressive, it can be seen as an acceptable display of a newcomer to Anfield.
In this match, coach Jurgen Klopp used Cody Gakpo from the beginning, in a 4-3-3 tactical system. Gakpo kicked to the left, combined with Darwin Nunez in the middle and Mohamed Salah to the right, forming the attacking trident of The Kop.
Gakpo did not play the whole match. He left the field in the 84th minute, making way for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. During his time on the pitch, the Dutchman had one shot on target, one pass that opened up a scoring opportunity for Salah, and a pass accuracy rate of 73.5%. He played aggressively and aggressively in the left corridor, had some good coordination on the border with Andrew Robertson, and Nunez and Salah created some bold situations in the middle.
He has not been able to score in this match like his two partners in attack, but Gakpo’s debut more or less still brings optimistic signals, although nothing is certain. Obviously, coming to a new, harsh and challenging environment like the Premier League is a completely different experience compared to the Eredivisie (Dutch national championship). At home, he is a top star, captain of PSV Eindhoven, leading the list of top scorers and assists in the Eredivisie. But when he arrived in England, joining a mighty Liverpool with countless elite faces, Gakpo had to start walking again.
Just look at Darwin Nunez and you’ll see. He came to Liverpool for a terrible price of 100 million euros after impressive performances in the Benfica shirt. However, when he arrived at Anfield, the striker’s integration was not easy. Although he has scored 10 goals in all competitions for The Kop so far, not a bad number for a rookie, and has made positive contributions to the overall play, but Nunez is still mocked when he is a regular. squandered good chances in front of goal.
Of course, at a big club like Liverpool, people often set very high standards, especially with blockbuster contracts like Nunez. Like the Uruguayan, Gakpo received a lot of expectations, especially with the task of improving the quality of Liverpool’s attack.
At the 2022 World Cup, although the Dutch team stopped in the quarterfinals, Gakpo personally played great, contributed 3 goals and was an important nucleus in the way Louis van Gaal played. Now, Liverpool fans are looking forward to the explosive images of Gakpo like in Qatar to appear again.
The problem of this player born in 1999 is how to integrate and adapt quickly, and if unfortunately he falls into a situation like Nunez, then Gakpo needs to learn from his teammates, ignore the derision and respond. by goals.
Didn’t Nunez just score against Wolves, with a cool one-touch kick!
