‘Loves It’ – Fans Think Cody Gakpo Had Point to Prove After ‘Punishing’ Tottenham

Cody Gakpo continued his fine early season form by being the star of the show for Liverpool in their Carabao Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur.

The performance of the Netherlands international earned him plaudits from the fans, who shared their thoughts on social media.

Gakpo captained the side from the start at Anfield and recorded a goal and an assist, underlining his importance to Andoni Iraola.

The 27-year-old had been linked with a move to Tottenham this summer, and the fans found it interesting that he put Spurs to the sword in his side's 3-1 win.

CODY GAKPO LEADS LIVERPOOL TO VICTORY OVER TOTTENHAM

Liverpool coach Andoni Iraola shuffled his pack for the Carabao Cup meeting with Tottenham, affording some much-needed respite to some of his stars.

One player who featured in an unchanged role from the start was Gakpo, who was strongly linked with a move away from the club in the transfer window.

The Dutchman had missed the win over Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League last week through injury, and only played for 30 minutes against Fulham.

He quickly made up for lost time in the game against Tottenham by firing home a fine shot for his side's second goal in the 54th minute.

He then set up Dominik Szoboszlai to conclude the scoring in stoppage time, sealing the 3-1 win.

Cody Gakpo registered the most touches in the opposition box in his 90 minutes of action, and created two chances.

The former PSV Eindhoven man also completed 75% of his passes and attempted just one shot in the game.

He made a tackle, a block, two interceptions, and four ball recoveries, showing how hard he worked off the ball.

He won six of 20 duels, particularly struggling to win aerial duels (14%) , and was dribbled past on two occasions.

CODY GAKPO'S PEFORMANCE DRAWS ATTENTION FROM FANS

Gakpo's Anfield showing attracted fans who were interested in how he performed, given his previous links to Spurs this summer.

They remarked on how he has changed significantly since, making fun of the north London side for not signing him.

One fan pointed out an obvious improvement in Gakpo's play, attributing it to his links to Tottenham. "See what Tottenham links have done to Gakpo? He even passes to the LB when he overlaps."

Another fan claimed that Gakpo was punishing Spurs for their interest in him. "Gakpo with 2 G/A/ already. Man is punishing Tottenham for even daring to show interest in buying him."

A fan pointed to Gakpo's record against Spurs as proof of their relief that he did not leave this summer. "Loves it against Spurs does Gakpo. To think he could’ve been playing against us today if the window went such way. So glad we kept him around."

Another fan imagined a scenario in which Gakpo ended up at Tottenham. "There's another world somewhere in which Gakpo is out there running around in a Spurs kit."

A fan mocked Tottenham faithful, pointing out that Gakpo's display was because they did not want him. "Spurs fans didn’t want Gakpo. You deserved that."

Liverpool managed to ease themselves into the next round after goals from Alexis Mac Allister, Gakpo, and Szoboszlai.

Tottenham scored once, their first goal against Premier League opposition, in the second half through Conor Gallagher, but crashed out by a 3-1 scoreline.