As Liverpool beat Fulham, Cody Gakpo netted once again in the League Cup, to become the first player to achieve a particular impressive feat since 2001.
Gakpo has taken somewhat of a backseat to Darwin Nunez this season, after a promising start to his Liverpool career in 2023’s early months.
He has started only half the Premier League games he has been available for, scoring just three goals. However, his importance in the League Cup has been far more substantial.
With goals in each round of the competition the Reds have played, he has become the first Liverpool player to score in four successive League Cup appearances, since Vladimir Smicer in 2000-01, according to Opta.
4 – Cody Gakpo has scored in all four of his League Cup games for Liverpool; he is the first player to score in four successive appearances in the competition for the club since Vladimir Smicer in 2000-01. Carabao. pic.twitter.com/lQOacAadEq
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 10, 2024
The first of the four matches in question was the third round tie at home vs. Leicester, when he drew the Reds level after they had trailed for 45 minutes at Anfield, before eventually winning 3-1.
Next up was a tricky trip to Bournemouth. In monsoon-like conditions, the Dutchman opened the scoring with a rebound as the Reds won 2-1, thanks to Nunez’s stunning winning goal.
The quarter-final saw Liverpool steamroll West Ham 5-1 at Anfield, with Gakpo netting the third – a great shot into the bottom corner from outside the box.
Then, of course, came his tidy finish against Fulham, which came courtesy of Nunez’s accurate cross.
The run has echoes of Takumi Minamino‘s influence in 2021/22, when the Japanese wasn’t a guaranteed starter in the Premier League but stepped up in the League Cup, scoring four in the first three rounds Liverpool played.
With Mo Salah away at AFCON, Gakpo could see his game time increase in the Premier League. Harvey Elliott has been playing on the right wing, but that hasn’t worked against Arsenal or Fulham.
Against Arsenal, Gakpo was initially deployed as a midfielder before a half-time change saw him move into a more attacking position.
Off the bench on Wednesday, he also played further forward, combining well with Nunez and Diogo Jota.
At just 24 years old, he could be a good player to have around for a long time, and hopefully February brings the first silverware Liverpool career.
