Cody Gakpo Shines in Liverpool's First Premier League Win
Andoni Iraola did not dodge the question. He went straight through it.
“I had no doubt with Cody,” the Liverpool head coach said, the words landing with the weight of someone who feels he has already been vindicated.
On a brisk Friday night at Portman Road, Cody Gakpo played like a footballer who had heard every rumour and decided to answer them all in 90 minutes. Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Ipswich Town delivered their first Premier League win of the season, and Gakpo drove it, carving open the newly promoted side twice inside nine ruthless minutes.
Both times, the beneficiary was Alexander Isak. Both times, Gakpo was the architect.
Two assists, same outcome: Ipswich stunned, Liverpool cruising.
Transfer saga in the background
The performance came at the end of a summer in which Gakpo’s future hung in the air. The Netherlands international had been linked with a move away from Anfield, with suggestions he wanted to test himself elsewhere in the Premier League.
- Tottenham were mentioned.
- Manchester City were more than that.
City were prepared to pay £85m to prise him away, a figure that underlined how highly he is rated across the league. Liverpool listened, but as the clock ticked towards the deadline, they could not line up a replacement they trusted. The door closed. Gakpo stayed.
If there were any doubts over how he would respond, he has answered them with his feet. He has been one of Liverpool’s standout performers through pre-season and into the opening weeks of the campaign, and Iraola made it clear that his belief never wavered.
“He has been very, very good. All pre-season, and has started very well this season, producing numbers,” Iraola said.
On Friday, the numbers were obvious. Two early assists from the left, then a positional switch to finish the game through the middle as the No. 9, tasked with helping Liverpool see out the result.
“I think it’s good to have Cody because he can play in the three positions up top, like all of our other players,” Iraola added. “To have him in this place for the beginning of the season is good.”
Competition bites in Liverpool’s attack
The message was clear: Gakpo is central to what Liverpool want to be this season, but he is not alone.
Iraola leaned into that point when asked about the forward’s mentality. “I think Cody knows how much we value him. I think there is no doubt. I rate him very highly,” he said.
Then came the challenge.
“I will demand a lot of him, obviously. He has also strong competition for minutes because we have good players in those positions, and it’s a matter of pushing each other.
“Now with Bradley, with Rio, with Victor, it’s a matter of sometimes they will start, sometimes they will come from the bench, sometimes they will not play. But this competition, I think, is going to be good for our team.”
In other words, there will be nights when Gakpo carries Liverpool, as he did here. There will also be nights when £123m summer signing Bradley Barcola, or others, take the spotlight instead.
Barcola’s first steps
Barcola’s Liverpool story began in earnest at Portman Road. It was only 30 minutes, but it was enough for Iraola to offer a first assessment of the France international’s readiness.
“I think Bradley hadn’t played a single minute since the World Cup so we needed to be careful,” he said. “I think he is training well, in a good place, and I think that he has helped us.”
There were flashes. Iraola pointed to situations where Liverpool did not quite pick him out when he was running at the goalkeeper, and another moment when Barcola led a sharp counter-attack, sliding a pass that Gakpo finished, only for the chance to go begging.
“But he was always a threat, you know?” Iraola said. “When he carries the ball, I think you can feel this threat and I’m happy because I think 30 minutes is going to be good for his fitness, for his build-up, and we will continue because now we play a lot of games, so he will have a chance to play more.”
Patience will be required, and Iraola did not shy away from that either.
“I think it’s normal, he hasn’t played any pre-season minutes. I think he’s still in a good place. I don’t think he will need something like a very special build-up, but we have to be aware that he hasn’t been playing in a while and the demands of the games are very different from training, so we have got to consider this.”
A forward line on edge
For now, the story belongs to Gakpo. A player who spent the summer on the market in theory, but on the pitch looks indispensable.
He is scoring and creating in pre-season, producing again when the real games start, and adapting to whatever role Iraola hands him across the front three. The competition that surrounds him is real. The faith in him, from his head coach, is just as real.
Liverpool have their first win, their new era under Iraola moving, their record signing easing into the rhythm of English football.
And in Cody Gakpo, they have a forward who has turned a summer of speculation into a platform for something far more dangerous: a season played with a point to prove.
