Cody Gakpo was one of the better performers in Liverpool’s 5-2 win over Newcastle.
It was his first goal at Anfield since October.
Gakpo has received criticism from Liverpool fans on many occasions this season, but no one will be taking issue with Saturday’s performance.
The goal was a stroke of luck with the ball taking a big deflection, but it was well deserved. It’s not the goalscoring, however, that I was most impressed with.
Did anyone actually deserve man of the match against West Ham? 😆
If so, who was it?
Alexis Mac Allister during Liverpool v West Ham United - Premier League
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
It was another element of the Dutchman’s game that has become a real weapon in recent weeks.
Cody Gakpo has worked on his playmaking for Liverpool
While he hasn’t been finding loads of joy in front of goal, Gakpo has quietly come a long way with his passing play.
He found Jeremie Frimpong with a beautiful, incisive through ball in the lead-up to Liverpool’s fifth from his usual left-sided starting position.
You might remember the cross-field ball he played to Mo Salah against Brighton, which was cushioned down to the oncoming Dominik Szoboszlai for a tie-settling finish.
Cody Gakpo celebrates after scoring for Liverpool against West Ham United in the Premier League at Anfield
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
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Especially with Florian Wirtz out injured, Liverpool needed a creative spark. Gakpo was the unlikely answer.
Gakpo gets a hard time for the often one-dimensional nature of his game, but he’s becoming more and more confident in distributing from deep and switching the play. He will always look to cut in, that much is clear, but he can still improve by getting confident in making those more complex passes rather than shooting from 25 yards or passing it across to the midfielder.
But as Liverpool’s starting left-winger, he needs to be scoring more goals. So do all the Liverpool forwards not named Hugo Ekitike.
Change my mind: Frimpong is now Liverpool’s best right winger
He did more in 13 minutes vs West Ham than Salah did all game 😶
Jeremie Frimpong celebrates after forcing an own goal during Liverpool's Premier League win over West Ham United at Anfield (Credit: Getty Images/Dan Mullan).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Dan Mullan
Gakpo had a gilt-edged chance from point-blank range which he shinned over the bar. On another day, that could have been a costly error.
Not a perfect performance, but much better than some we have seen in recent weeks.
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