Cody Gakpo's Impact on Liverpool's Attack: Barcola's Challenge
Jamie Carragher believes Bradley Barcola “is going to struggle to get a game” if Cody Gakpo keeps playing at this level.
Liverpool’s £123m summer signing from Paris Saint-Germain has arrived with heavyweight expectations, but on Friday night at Portman Road it was the established name who stole the stage. Gakpo ran the show in a 2-0 win over Ipswich Town, as Andoni Iraola’s side finally collected their first victory of the Premier League season.
Gakpo turns on the class
Liverpool had opened the campaign with back-to-back 2-2 draws against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest, performances that drew questions about Iraola’s set-up and their defensive control. Those doubts eased quickly in Suffolk.
Two goals in nine first-half minutes from Alexander Isak settled Liverpool down and silenced a lively home crowd, even as Ipswich kept swinging and ended the night with 14 shots. The difference lay in the quality at the sharp end – and Gakpo supplied it.
The Netherlands forward produced two moments of real class to unlock the game, the standout a gorgeous outside-of-the-boot through ball that sliced Ipswich’s back line and sent Isak racing clear for Liverpool’s second. It was the kind of pass that changes matches and, potentially, selection hierarchies.
Carragher, watching on, didn’t miss the significance. Taking to X after the game, the former Liverpool defender wrote: “Barcola is going to struggle to get a game with this version of Gakpo.”
It was a pointed line, but it chimed with what Liverpool have seen for weeks. Gakpo has been one of the club’s standout performers in pre-season and in the early stretch of the campaign, form strong enough that Liverpool shut the door on interest from Manchester City and Tottenham and kept him at Anfield.
Van Dijk: ‘He’s important for us’
Inside the camp, the appreciation is just as clear. Virgil van Dijk, now wearing the armband and speaking after the win, underlined how central Gakpo has become to Liverpool’s plans.
“Cody was outstanding,” the Liverpool captain told Sky Sports. “He’s important for us and he will be important this season as well. He showed it today, last week as well with the assist and over the last couple of years.”
For Barcola, still waiting for his debut after that blockbuster move from PSG, the message is blunt: the shirt is Gakpo’s to lose.
Isak reminds everyone who he is
If Gakpo was the creator, Isak was the executioner. The Sweden international endured a frustrating first season at Liverpool after his high-profile switch from Newcastle United, injuries repeatedly stalling his rhythm and impact.
This looked different. Sharper. Meaner.
Isak struck twice to punish Ipswich and give Iraola the kind of controlled away win every new manager craves. His finishing was ruthless, but his manager’s focus lies beyond the numbers.
“He’s a massive player for us,” Iraola said after the game. “My demands will probably not be about the goals. I know he is fit and in good shape. He’s going to produce the numbers.
“My fight with him will be more about other stuff, how to help the team in other situations – but it is good he has already played two full games, scoring the goals, so I am very happy to have him.”
Isak himself sounded like a man who feels the pieces finally clicking into place.
“We were waiting for the first win,” he admitted. “We talked about starting the game good, which we haven’t done recently, so it was perfect for us to get two good quick goals.
“With a normal pre-season, I think we are starting to get to the way we want to play. To be offensive and attack the defence. I think we did that. We scored two, and we could have scored more.”
A good problem brewing for Iraola
Liverpool’s attack suddenly looks alive again. Isak scoring, Gakpo dictating, the patterns Iraola wants beginning to show with more clarity. All of that is before Barcola has even kicked a competitive ball for the club.
That is where Carragher’s comment bites. A £123m winger is usually signed to walk straight into the XI. Right now, he may have to wait his turn.
If “this version of Gakpo” sticks around, Iraola’s biggest early headache might not be system, or structure, or style. It might be how he fits a record signing into a front line that already looks ready to tear into the season.
