Ex-Man Utd man impressed by how 23-year-old Liverpool star has adapted to life at Anfield
Although Liverpool were defeated 5-2 by Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night, Ruud Van Nistelrooy believes Cody Gakpo put in a ‘strong’ performance for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
The Dutchman joined the Reds from PSV last month and has showed glimpses of his potential in recent weeks.
The former Manchester United striker, who is now manager of PSV, also believes the 23-year-old has done well to settle quickly on Merseyside.
“I thought Cody [Gakpo] was strong,” Van Nistelrooy told De Telegraaf (via Football365). “Just like all of Liverpool in the first 20 minutes. They were blowing away Real Madrid and Cody was strong.
“He had some great ball-saving moments, playing the ball to the side and moving well. Cody also had some switching moments after ball loss, winning the ball back and looked very sharp.
“But that was also the case against Newcastle United and in the derby against Everton. You see he adapts quickly to that level.”
Before our dismal defeat to the La Liga giants earlier this week, Gakpo had netted in his last two appearances for the Reds and was playing with real confidence.
He started well against Carlo Ancelotti’s side but was extremely quiet during the second half before he was replaced by Bobby Firmino just after the hour mark.
We still remain unsure at where the Netherlands International performs best with him so far being deployed centrally (as he was for the Netherlands at the World Cup) although he started the campaign superbly for PSV often operating as a left winger.
Before his move to the Premier League, Gakpo had netted 13 goals and registered 17 assists in 30 appearances (across all competitions).
The best is yet to come from the versatile forward but let’s hope he can finish the campaign strongly to ensure we finish the season in the top four.
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