Cody Gakpo finally got off the mark for Liverpool in their win over Everton on Monday night as a tactical tweak helped him emulate Virgil van Dijk.
Gakpo had endured a sluggish start since his £40million transfer from PSV Eindhoven at the start of January, with no goals or assists coming in his opening six games for the club. His arrival at Liverpool has coincided with a poor run for Jurgen Klopp’s team, but they may have put that behind them against Everton.
Mohamed Salah opened the scoring by tapping in Darwin Nunez’s cross on a counter-attack before Trent Alexander-Arnold – and a mistake by Conor Coady – put the second goal on a plate for Gakpo just after the break. Liverpool secured a 2-0 win to record their first Premier League victory of 2023.
Speaking before the match, Gakpo revealed that he was hoping to break his duck against Everton to follow in the footsteps of his compatriot Van Dijk. He did exactly that – and used Van Dijk’s hand under the chin gesture to pay tribute to his team-mate.
While he generally featured from the left wing for PSV, Gakpo played as a withdrawn No9 in Liverpool’s usual 4-3-3 formation against Everton. The tactical shift had the desired effect, with Nunez’s pace causing problems down the left and Gakpo impressing with his ability to link play in the middle.
Asked by Sky Sports after the game about his favourite position, Gakpo said: “Obviously I played a few games in the centre and more like a false nine to be involved in the build up, try and be involved in the build up, and from there go forward. It’s another role than I’m used to, but it’s good for me to improve the position and keep working.”
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His tactical flexibility could be very important for Liverpool in the coming weeks, with key players beginning to return from injury. Monday saw Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino get onto the pitch, while Van Dijk himself was an unused substitute following a spell on the sidelines.
Gakpo welcomes the increased competition for places because he knows it will benefit the team, even if it means more time on the bench for himself. “I think for every attacking player it’s one point you have to do – score goals – and you have to try to do your best to help the team where you can,” he said.
“Then it’s up to the coach for the choices he makes for the starting 11. I think it’s good that they come back, now we have more options, more quality, and we’re more likely to win games. That’s most important at this point.”
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes Gakpo’s performance against Everton showed he is more suited to a central role, like Firmino. “I just think actually watching Gakpo, it feels like his profile is similar more to Firmino than the other wide players who’ve got blistering pace to run in behind,” he said.
“It could actually be what we’ve seen tonight where it’s Nunez who finds himself on the left a lot more and Gakpo’s playing in that hole.”
