Cody Gakpo Responds to Criticism For Slow Start

Cody Gakpo is in the unfortunate position of being a new player on this Liverpool team that fell off of a cliff this season. Because his teammates aren’t pulling their own weight and many have been out of commission with injury, he has had more expectations placed on his shoulders. He hasn’t been afforded the grace period to get bed into the team the way others have in the past.

He finally scored his first goal for the team in a very opportune moment. While I’m sure he would have preferred to it to have happened earlier, very few things inspire loyalty in Liverpool fans like scoring against their hometown rivals, Everton. Just ask Divock Origi.

The fact that the team desperately needed the three points that goal picked up for them didn’t hurt.

After the match, Gakpo spoke Viaplay Netherlands about the criticism he’s received because of his slow start.

“Of course, as a striker, you always want to score and give assists,” he said, “In the end, though, it’s about winning and if that too doesn’t work out, then it’s tough. I have to be honest; I don’t really read it (criticism). I get it, of course.

“That’s not so nice for any normal person, but you have to deal with that. I don’t think I get confused by that. I think I could have gone to Jürgen Klopp for that, but I didn’t. That was not necessary for me.”

It’s good that the Dutchman has been letting the hate and unfair expectations roll off his back. Another good performance against Newcastle on Saturday could help push him and the rest of the team in the right direction going forward.