Liverpool absolutely lit up Anfield tonight, walking away with a 3-1 win over Tottenham in the EFL Cup. The star of the show? Hands down, Cody Gakpo. That Dutch international was cooking, right at the heart of everything good Liverpool dished out, ending the night with a wild three goal contributions.
Gakpo’s New Vibe Under Iraola
Forget the Gakpo we thought we knew. Under Andoni Iraola, he is a completely different player. Remember all that talk about him looking uncertain about his future on Merseyside during the summer? That’s ancient history. He looks perfectly suited to the new style this Liverpool side is trying to play: faster, more direct, with completely different tempo, movement, and intention.
You saw it all night. He was involved in the move for the opening goal, carrying the ball intelligently and helping create the opportunity. Then came the second: Gakpo received the opportunity and made absolutely no mistake, firing a superb strike from the angle to put Liverpool two goals ahead. His influence continued right until the closing stages, when he supplied the assist for Liverpool’s third goal, effectively ending Tottenham’s night. Beyond the numbers, his general performance was electric. He was powerful, direct, and confident, attacking spaces and carrying the ball like he owned the pitch, making things happen instead of waiting around for the game to come to him.
Mamardashvili Steps Up, Young Guns Shine
Sure, Gakpo took the Man of the Match, and deservedly so, but we gotta talk about Giorgi Mamardashvili. The Georgian goalkeeper put in a superb shift of shot-stopping. He pulled off several excellent saves to keep Liverpool ahead, including a brilliant low stop to his left after the interval and an extraordinary one-handed save later in the game. Yeah, his positioning for Tottenham’s headed goal wasn’t ideal, and it probably cost him Man of the Match, but his overall performance was still a massive positive.
What else did we see? Liverpool made a bunch of changes, bringing in several younger players to the starting XI. That’s big. They still delivered a controlled 3-1 victory! Alexis Mac Allister was very good out there, and Trey Nyoni looked super comfortable in that deeper midfield spot. The young guns showed Iraola they can definitely contribute. But when Liverpool needed someone to step up, Gakpo was the guy who consistently delivered. The tide has turned for him, big time. He looked like he could be out the door in the summer, and now he is one of the most natural fits for Iraola’s new football.
This win, even with all the lineup changes, shows Iraola’s vision is really starting to click. With Gakpo absolutely thriving in this new system, after looking like he might leave town, the energy around Liverpool is something else. What’s next for this squad? You know they are looking to build on this.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply