Jurgen Klopp’s departure saw Liverpool’s rivals intent on grinding Arne Slot and his squad between the great millstones of the footballing universe.
That simply hasn’t happened. Victory over Brighton and Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening saw the Dutch tactician claim his 12th win of the campaign, having played just 14 matches across all competitions.
It’s been quite something, and the Reds will travel to Southampton in the quarter-finals of the cup competition fuelled with confidence and deeper-spined belief that they can indeed compete for honours across every front this season.
The 3-2 scoreline somewhat flattered the Seagulls, who will be quaking at the daunting prospect of meeting the Merseysiders at Anfield in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
Liverpool boast one of the most awe-inspiring frontlines across the continent, with some of their forwards sure to make a positive impression in any of the finest outfits in world football.
It’s somewhat surprising that no one was honoured with a mention at the recently wrapped-up Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Liverpool snubbed at the Ballon d'Or
The biggest elephant in the room is that of Mohamed Salah, who did not even make the top 30 even though he’s widely regarded as one of the finest forwards in the world and posted 33 goals and 21 assists across all competitions since the start of last season.
As this content creator acknowledges, there has been some measure of outrage centred around Real Madrid galactico Vinicius Jr.’s failure to win the pinnacle of individual prizes, beaten by Manchester City’s Rodri despite popular opinion turned toward the Brazilian being the one to claim the golden ball.
Is this truly a travesty? Rodri is head and shoulders above every other midfielder across the world. He’s Pep Guardiola’s lifeblood, hailed as a “true legend of the game” by Joleon Lescott.
Liverpool’s failure to find any single player in the discussion was frankly embarrassing, and an illustration of the gaping holes that this prestigious award carries.
Four centre-backs claimed the award ahead of Van Dijk, while the aforementioned Salah will be shocked at some of the like-positioned names that claimed placements ahead of him.
But this is nothing compared to the noise surrounding Vinicius Jr., with all of a Real Madrid persuasion flat-out refusing to attend the ceremony, despite winning a wealth of accolades after a trophy-laden 2023/24 campaign.
In fairness, the 24-year-old was incredible last year, instrumental in winning the Champions League and La Liga, notching 50 goal contributions for Los Blancos since the start of last year.
He’s also remarkably dynamic, ranking among the top 4% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for shot-creating actions, the top 7% for passes attempted and the top 1% for progressive carries and successful take-ons per 90, as per FBref.
Oh for Liverpool to boast a player of such proportions. Actually, they do: Cody Gakpo has made significant headway under Slot’s leadership and offers a style not all that dissimilar to that of Vini.
Cody Gakpo's rise at Liverpool
Gakpo is approaching the two-year mark of his time at Liverpool, signing as he did from PSV Eindhoven in a deal worth an initial £35m in January 2023.
It was a turbulent time, a time of patchiness and wobbles. Liverpool had been knocked heavily off-kilter and Gakpo struggled to drive into the way of life at Anfield.
Last season, his first full year on Merseyside, he started to kick on but has now begun to look like a truly dangerous forward under the management of his Dutch countryman, scoring twice against Brighton on Wednesday evening to take his haul to four goals and two assists from just six starting appearances.
Described as a “superstar” by The Athletic’s Carl Anka before tearing it up at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and indeed making the switch to Liverpool, Gakpo has gone from strength to strength this season, looking like a different beast in Slot’s system.
This is principally down to having nailed down a recognised position on the left flank, instead of the all-covering modus operandi that he employed under Klopp’s wing.
Centre-Forward
19
9
3
Left Winger
7
1
2
Central Midfield
7
0
0
Right Winger
5
1
0
Now, he may be jockeying for ascendancy with the mercurial Luis Diaz down the left wing, but at least he’s got a clear understanding of the role that he is to play – and play that role he has.
Gakpo’s pace, power and deceptive trickery make him a singular outlet for Liverpool, with his stunning opening strike against the Seagulls evidence of the cannon he has in his toolkit.
Even so, he’s so much more. A protean threat, crackling with tactical dynamism, Gakpo ranks among the top 2% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for shot-creating actions, the top 10% for pass completion and progressive carries, the top 5% for progressive passes and the top 1% for tackles and interceptions made per 90 (FBref).
And so you can see: Gakpo is a player borne with technical skill and sharp match intelligence that mirrors that of Vinicius Jr., with FBref classing the Brazilian among the players most similar to the Dutchman across Europe’s top five leagues – and moreover, he’s equally competent across a range of positional deployments.
Let’s hope that he can continue to go from strength to strength in this high-flying Slot system. Let’s not bet against it, in any case.
Gakpo is starting to show what he can do, and he can do so much. With such talented members across myriad positions, why shouldn’t Liverpool be reaching for the stars this term?
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