Former West Ham boss David Moyes has singled one Liverpool star out for praise after his latest display at Euro 2024.
Both Cody Gakpo and Virgil van Dijk were in action for the Netherlands today as they came from behind to beat Poland.
The Liverpool duo received an early shock in the game as Adam Buksa opened the scoring for Poland against the run of play.
Gakpo, who enjoyed an exceptional opening 45 minutes, levelled the scoring just before the half-hour mark. The Dutchman’s effort from range took a kind deflection to help the ball past Wojciech Szczesny.
The Netherlands grabbed a late winner through substitute Wout Weghorst to get their Euro 2024 campaign off to a winning start.
Gakpo was replaced by reported Liverpool target Jeremie Frimpong in the 81st minute but he impressed David Moyes with his display.
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Moyes delivers Cody Gakpo verdict as the Netherlands beat Poland
Speaking on BBC Sport’s coverage of the game, Moyes highlighted the display of Gakpo at halftime.
“Poland have grown into the game and started to really look like they had some self belief towards the end of the half,” the former West Ham boss said.
“They weren’t the better team but managed to get themselves a goal in front which was fantastic but they struggled to deal with Cody Gakpo in particular down the left-hand side.”
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Gakpo’s impressive stats vs Poland
According to WhoScored, Gakpo was comfortably Holland’s best player in their opening game at the Euros.
The £35 million forward picked up an 8.7 match rating after causing constant problems for Poland down the left-hand side.
- 81 minutes played
- 1 goal
- 53 touches
- 23/26 passes completed
- 3 key passes
- 1 big chance missed
- 1 clearance
- 2 tackles
It was certainly a bright opening game for Gakpo and the Liverpool star seems to thrive while playing at international level.
His form for the Reds has been slightly less convincing but he was used in a wide variety of positions under former boss Jurgen Klopp.
Perhaps a strong tournament while playing in his favoured position off the left will be enough to convince Arne Slot to use him slightly differently at club level.