'Doesn’t just fall out of the sky' - Arne Slot responds to Cody Gakpo form for Liverpool

Cody Gakpo scored his 16th goal of the season in the 4-0 victory over Tottenham at Anfield

Theo Squires Liverpool FC Writer

05:00, 07 Feb 2025

Cody Gakpo looks on during the Carabao Cup Semi Final Second Leg match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on February 06, 2025(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Arne Slot has insisted Cody Gakpo’s recent form is nothing new as he admitted he does not care how many goals the Dutchman scored for Liverpool this season. The Netherlands international netted his 16th goal of the season to open the scoring in the Reds’ 4-0 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night.

Levelling the scores on aggregate in the League Cup semi-final, Liverpool went on to record an emphatic 4-0 victory to book their place in the final against Newcastle United on March 16.

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Gakpo has now equalled his overall goals haul from last season, while only Mohamed Salah has scored more than him for the Reds this term.

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And while Slot admits his compatriot is enjoying a ‘special’ campaign, he stated he is not bothered whether the forward goes on to break the 25-goal barrier.

“I have no clue,” he said when asked if Gakpo can score 25 goals. “I am not so much into how many goals they score.

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“I know if they work as hard as they do and they bring the ball out from the back as well as they do, then we will always score goals because of the quality players we have.

“But these goals do not come from themselves. If you look at the third goal, the effort Conor Bradley puts in as a full-back to sprint all over the pitch and then assist Dom. That is just as important as the one who scores goals.

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“I think it was Mo who crossed it in (for Gakpo’s goal), Curtis went for it and that gave the full-back a little bit of doubt so the ball falls then for Cody.

“If it’s Cody or Lucho or Diogo or Darwin or Mo or Federico, they can all score goals but we have to make sure they come in those positions a lot. Therefore you need to run a lot and that is what they are all doing.

“Cody is having a special season but second half of last season he was special and during the Euros he was special for Holland so it doesn’t just fall out of the sky. It was something he did before.”