Cody Gakpo’s Liverpool 50: Who he loves scoring against and who has delivered him the most assists
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Cody Gakpo brought up 50 goals for Liverpool on Sunday as he fired home an equaliser against Manchester United.It was one of the easiest of his half-century, as the Reds capitalised on a Senne Lammens error to restore parity at Old Trafford.But while the goal ultimately meant nothing on the day, it will still have been a proud moment for Gakpo to reach such a landmark. And then going on to play abysmally… Photo credit: Getty Images/Liverpool FC As he moved into joint 57th on the all-time Liverpool goalscorers list, Rousing The Kop thought it a good idea to look at the details behind Gakpo’s 50, from his favourite opposition to his most prolific period during matches.Gakpo loves playing against Man UnitedPrior to Sunday’s match, RTK wrote that Gakpo could replace Mohamed Salah as Man United’s bogeyman when they face Liverpool.He proved that with another goal against the old enemy, his fifth while playing for the Reds.
That makes United his second most scored against opponent, with West Ham still sitting at the top.Gakpo has found the net seven times for Liverpool against the Hammers, while he also enjoys facing Tottenham (four goals), Brighton and Fulham (three). In total, the 26-year-old has scored against 27 teams for the Reds.READ MORE: Daniel Sturridge tells Arne Slot how to fix his Florian Wirtz problem after watching him vs Man UnitedPhoto by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty ImagesSalah leads the way in assistsAs per LFC History, 17 different Liverpool players have set up a goal for Gakpo since his arrival at the club in January 2023.Unsurprisingly, Mohamed Salah leads the way in this respect, having assisted the Dutchman on 10 different occasions.Trent Alexander-Arnold is second on the list with five, while Andy Robertson (four) and Alexis Mac Allister (three) also feature towards the top.Darwin Nunez, Harvey Elliott, Hugo Ekitike, Ryan Gravenberch and Virgil van Dijk have all laid on two assists for Gakpo, with players as diverse as Tyler Morton, Alexander Isak and Joe Gomez all weighing in as well.Gakpo is more prolific as games progressAlong with the rest of his Liverpool teammates, Gakpo was much better during the second half against Man United on Sunday, and it appears that generally that is when the No.
His earliest effort was a big one, though, arriving in the 12th minute of the 2-0 win over Man City in December 2024, while he has hit three 90th minute goals for the Reds.Keep starting GakpoOne of the biggest criticisms of Slot this season has been his tendency to keep starting Gakpo despite some disappointing performances.While the head coach would likely argue that he hasn’t had much choice for much of the campaign, the stats also back up that Gakpo performs better in a goalscoring sense when starting games.A whopping 43 of his goals have come after being named on the teamsheet, with only seven arriving from the bench.Predictably, most of Gakpo’s strikes have also come in the Premier League – 32 of them – while fans will not be surprised to learn that the Carabao Cup is his second best competition, with nine goals being scored there. Five Champions League and four Europa League efforts round out Gakpo’s 50.In terms of managers, Gakpo slightly favours Slot to Jurgen Klopp, although he has played more under his countryman.