Tim Sherwood feels Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo ‘struggled’ against Real Madrid. He also senses the Champions League tie was ‘a bit much’ for the Dutchman after their 5-2 defeat.
The Galacticos came from 2-0 down to win at Anfield this Tuesday in the first leg of the last 16 affair. Darwin Nunez (4’) and Mohamed Salah (14’) gave the Premier League side a solid early lead. But Vinicius Jr (21’, 36’), Eder Militao (47’) and Karim Benzema (55’, 67’) replied.
Liverpool now have a mountain to climb when Jurgen Klopp’s squad travels to the Santiago Bernabeu on March 15. While Los Blancos became the first team to ever score five goals at Anfield in a European competition. Liverpool’s only previous win at Real Madrid ended 1-0.
Klopp started Gakpo as the central spike of Liverpool’s attacking trident for the visit of Real Madrid on Tuesday. Nunez and Salah supported the Reds’ €40m (£35m), rising up to €50m (£44m), January transfer from PSV Eindhoven on the wings during his 64 minutes of action.
Roberto Firmino replaced Gakpo whilst Los Blancos led the Reds 4-1, right before Benzema would bag his brace. Diogo Jota also entered the action after 64 minutes in place of Nunez. Salah was the Merseyside outfit’s only attacking option who played for the full 90 minutes.
Sherwood issues a bleak verdict on Gakpo’s display for Liverpool vs Real Madrid
Gakpo has now featured nine times for Liverpool following his mid-season move from PSV after facing Real Madrid. The 23-year-old had also scored during his past two outings, with efforts against Everton and Newcastle United to help claim 2-0 wins in the Premier League.
Klopp has started Gakpo in all nine of his appearances for the Reds so far, as well. But the 14-cap Dutch dynamo is yet to replicate the form he displayed in Eindhoven this term. He left the Philips Stadion following 13 goals and 17 assists over 24 games in all competitions.
His haul under Ruud van Nistelrooy this season also included three goals and two assists in five Europa League ties. The Eindhoven-born star further penned one of his assists against Arsenal to win 2-0. Yet Sherwood feels Gakpo struggled for Liverpool against Real Madrid.
“Gakpo struggled,” Sherwood told Sky Sports News (21/02, 10:09). “I think it looked a bit much for him.”
Gakpo wasted, arguably, his best chance to score against Real Madrid as the Liverpool ace stumbled in the box. He recovered quickly from the second-minute mishap but not enough to satisfy Sherwood. The Dutchman’s impact also reduced heavily through the second half.
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