Arne Slot appears to have stumbled across a fresh team selection headache at Liverpool.
The Reds boss saw his side bounce back to winning ways on Tuesday night following their defeat to Nottingham Forest over the weekend, putting AC Milan to the sword in an emphatic 3-1 victory in the Champions League.
Milan took the lead after just three minutes through Christian Pulisic before two headed goals from Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk turned the match on its head before halftime. Dominik Szoboszlai then sealed the deal in the 67th minute in a performance that will have pleased Slot.
Several stars impressed at the San Siro, notably Cody Gakpo. Playing on the left of Liverpool’s front three, the forward truly staked his claim as to why he should feature more regularly under his new boss.
Slot has leaned on Luis Diaz during the opening few weeks of his tenure and his faith in the Colombia international has been rewarded, but Gakpo’s display will have presented a fresh predicament to the ex-Feyenoord boss.
Despite impressing with the Netherlands at Euro 2024, the forward’s first start of the season came against Milan, having been limited to late appearances as a substitute prior to the trip to Italy.
But Gakpo showed what he is capable of whilst deployed as a winger, causing Milan defender Davide Calabria a host of problems over the course of the match. The Dutchman was willing to stretch the pitch with runs in behind but also came inside on several occasions to link up play centrally in more familiar territory.
Gakpo registered two shots on target, both from distance, and created several openings for his team-mates. The winger then capped off a fine performance by registering an assist for Szoboszlai’s goal, crossing the ball into the path of the Hungarian international following a sharp counter-attack.
