Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp has hailed his player Cody Gakpo as ‘a super, football-smart person’ after Liverpool beat Leicester City 3-0 yesterday.
Liverpool have extended their league run to seven wins in a row, with the latest victim being Leicester City. They got the lead when Curtis Jones scored just in the 33rd minute. He then doubled the lead again just two minutes later. Trent Alexander Arnold then sealed the win with a wonderful free kick in the 71st minute. The game ended 3-0 with Liverpool in a great patch of form.
While Cody Gakpo had no goal involvements, the stats do not say everything. The Dutchman has been excellent yesterday as well and has been a revelation for the team. He was part of a front three with Mohamed Salah, who assisted all three goals, and Luiz Diaz. Playing in a central role, he helped link up play allowing the team to create many chances.
Gakpo had an excellent World Cup with the Netherlands, attracting interest from many big clubs. He then joined Liverpool from PSV in January for about 66 million dollars in January.
Gakpo has really started to impress after a decent start and has been an important factor in Liverpool’s current outstanding run of seven Premier League wins in a row. He already has six goals and two assists in the league to his name.
What did Jurgen Klopp say about Cody Gakpo?
The 24-year-old has settled into life in England swiftly, and Klopp is pleased with a player who is smart beyond his years.
In the post-match press conference yesterday, Klopp talked about Gakpo. According to Fabrizio Romano, he said, “He’s a super football smart person. Not for one second did I feel he is 24, really young. He was captain at his previous club, which is all special.”
Jurgen Klopp on Cody Gakpo deal: "We signed a super, football-smart person. Not for one second I feel that he's 24!". ❤️🇳🇱 #LFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 16, 2023
"He was captain at his previous club, which is special. Then you meet the boy and you think: ah ok, now I understand it. He eats football!". pic.twitter.com/UOTMJXRrmh
“I met the boy and I understood it. He eats football. Each information you give him is, for him, natural to put it on the pitch.”
He also described him as intelligent enough to fit into a variety of different tactical systems in Liverpool’s attack.
“He was in a position [against Leicester] he never played before, I think, but he enjoys it a lot there and we need him there so it’s very good. He can obviously play three more positions in the system which is super helpful. But yeah, he adapted pretty quick.”
The win against Leicester means they are just one point behind third-placed Newcastle United and fourth-placed Manchester United. Both still have a game in hand, but Liverpool could soon close in on the Champions League spots soon.
With two games left in the season against Aston Villa and Southampton, the Reds would be hoping for a miracle to achieve their top-four hopes.
