ANFIELD — It was one of football‘s biggest conundrums in recent memory. Everyone knew what Arjen Robben was going to do. Yet nobody could do anything to stop him.
How was he allowed to cut inside from the flank and whip a stunning strike into the net with his other foot time and time again?
When something is so perfectly executed, even the very best are deemed powerless to stop it – as Liverpool‘s Cody Gakpo demonstrated against Leicester on Boxing Day.
There were plenty around Anfield who would not have minded if Gakpo was sold in the summer. A good option to have but one Liverpool wouldn’t miss if he left, being the general consensus.
But the player who returned from a fruitful Euros in the summer is now doing a passable impression of his Dutch predecessor Robben, with fellow countryman Arne Slot changing Gakpo’s role in the Liverpool team.
A thunderous strike at Brighton teased this new potent weapon for Liverpool’s title charge earlier in the season.
Further goals of that ilk had not been forthcoming, however. Until now. In first-half stoppage time, with his team-mates short of ideas against a dogged Leicester team, Gakpo skipped past his man, cut in from the left and arrowed a superb curling effort into the far corner with his other foot.
Cody Gakpo, that is BEAUTIFUL! 🤤💫#PLonPrime #LIVLEI pic.twitter.com/jr29PQVwiR
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) December 26, 2024
Had Liverpool gone into the break behind, the prospect of rousing a comeback would have felt slim. Gakpo’s goal ensured there was only going to be one winner from there on in. There is seemingly no end to the threats Liverpool now possess.
“We expect more to keep our wingers wide and get in one on one situations,” Slot said. “Cody and Lucho [Luis Diaz] did that well. Against Spurs it was mainly Lucho and Mo [Salah] that were dominant, now it was Cody and Mo. It is nice to have so many options in every position but also in the front three.”
With everything served on a Christmas platter after Chelsea and City both dropped points in the early Boxing Day results, everyone in attendance at Anfield expected Liverpool to gorge themselves.
Struggling Leicester had not read the script, however, and raced into a shock early lead through Jordan Ayew.
The fact Liverpool whipped in 30 crosses, higher than their season average for a league match, before the half hour mark alone typified the lack of imagination on show, with one shot on target as the first half entered stoppage time hardly the mark of champions in the making.
But the volume of gamechangers Slot has to call upon is what separates Liverpool from the rest this term. If Salah is having a rare off day, or Trent Alexander-Arnold cannot pick one of his otherworldly passes, there are still plenty capable of moments of inspiration.
The timing of Gakpo’s rocket did all the damage. Then it was left to Curtis Jones, another player reborn under Slot, to complete the turnaround early in the second half on his 100th league appearance.
Another inexplicable VAR delay denied Gakpo another, with the Dutchman forced to remain on 10 goals for the season – a more than commendable return for a bit-part player.
Of course Salah had to get in on the act late on with a fine finish, but Gakpo’s jolt out of the Leicester blue is where this potentially tricky encounter was decided. Seven points now separates Liverpool from Chelsea in second, with the league leaders having played one game more.
Even a sustained title tilt in Slot’s first season in charge seemed a forlorn hope in the summer. To be clear favourites for a second Premier League crown, without even really having hit optimum gear yet, is quite the accomplishment.
It helps when a player who is anything but a guaranteed starter takes his game to new levels, adding to the myriad of attacking threats that surely makes this multi-faceted strikeforce unstoppable this season.
