[Liverpool](https://walkon.com/) are finally starting to wake up and just had a dominant offensive performance against relegation candidates West Ham United, winning 5-2. And despite all the criticism levied at him this season, Dutch left winger Cody Gakpo played a crucial role in the win.
Gakpo scored his sixth goal of the season as part of the Liverpool romping of their hapless East London counterparts, giving the forward a two goal cushion ahead of right winger Mohamed Salah in the season goal charts.
And beyond the goals, Gakpo, as usual, had a nifty creative role with a trio of key passes, standing out as one of the several Liverpool players who had their way with a West Ham defense filled with gaps.
Chance creation has never been the issue for Gakpo, and against weaker opponents like West Ham that give him cavernous gaps defensively, Gakpo can tuck inside almost like an auxiliary No. 10 out wide and playmake pretty much at will.
While it is true that Gakpo has not been a superstar for Liverpool this season and has been below the standard Luis Diaz is setting as a superstar for Bayern Munich this season, he hasn’t been as deserving of the vitriol he has received from several Kopites this season.
That being said, he is as good as gone, at least as a starter. Players like Gakpo who are cerebral and can create and shoot are valuable, but in the modern Premier League, Liverpool need a left winger who can explode, take defenders on, and create chaos, just as the Manchester City superstars do, for example.
Gakpo and Salah hamstring the team together, but whereas we know Salah is on his last legs, Gakpo has no real excuse. He’s just not the profile Liverpool need out wide, though, again, he is more useful than his biggest detractors would have you think.
Joe Soriano is the editor of _The Trivela Effect_ and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like _The Real Champs_ (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage _NFL Spin Zone_ and _Daily DDT,_ covering the NFL and pro wrestling.