The Dutchman made his debut in Saturday’s FA Cup clash and impressed from the off
Cody Gakpo insists his new Liverpool side have plenty to work and improve on after Saturday evening’s 2-2 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup third round.
The Premier League pair will need 90 more minutes – plus the potential of extra-time and penalties- at some point between now and January 28 to separate them, following a frantic match at Anfield. Goncalo Guedes gave the visitors an early lead after an awful Alisson Becker mistake, but goals either side of half-time from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah turned the tide.
Second-half substitutions from Julen Lopetegui once again handed his side the impetus, Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-Chan combining off the bench for the latter to force home. The Midlands club thought they’d won it when Toti forced home with eight minutes to spare, only for the linesman to rule it out for offside and VAR unable to find the camera angles to confirm it.
In what was a far below average performance from Liverpool on the whole, few stood out as much as the sharp and inventive Gakpo. The 23-year-old was handed his debut after signing for around £40million last week, and looked like Liverpool’s most dangerous attacker from the off.
Smart combination play between himself, Andy Robertson and Thiago Alcantara provided encouragement as to how the trio will link-up in the future. And while the Dutchman acknowledged those good moments, he believes there are still points to improve.
“[It was a] really great atmosphere,” Gakpo told Liverpoolfc.com. “For my own game, I think I showed some good moments and some sloppy moments. So, I can also still improve on those points and keep working and try to help the team as much as I can.
“Of course you learn the most when you’re playing games, so I’m looking forward [to more].
“I think we played in phases really good football but in the end we didn’t score enough, so that’s a pity. But I think we showed what we could do but we can still improve on some points and let’s work on that.
“I think we showed real team spirit at moments, so that’s good. I think we have to go there [Molineux] with great determination and just go for the win.”
Liverpool have a relatively large period of rest before they return to Premier League action next weekend due to their elimination from the Carabao Cup. But with Wolves set for a quarter-final clash on Wednesday, any replay is likely to take place during the week beginning January 16.
SOURCE: liverpoolecho.co.uk
