Cody Gakpo Shines in Liverpool's Premier League Victory

Andoni Iraola never wavered. Not when the rumours swirled all summer. Not when Manchester City circled with £85m on the table. Not when Cody Gakpo’s name kept getting dragged into transfer talk.

On a sharp Friday night at Portman Road, the Liverpool head coach’s conviction was played out in real time.

Gakpo, the subject of months of speculation, tore into Ipswich Town and lit the fuse on Liverpool’s first Premier League win of the season. Two assists inside nine minutes, both for Alexander Isak, and the contest was effectively decided before the home crowd had settled.

From doubt to dominance, all in under ten minutes.

Gakpo answers the noise

All summer, Gakpo’s future sat on a knife-edge. The Netherlands international was linked heavily with a move away from Anfield, with reports suggesting he was keen to explore Tottenham before eventually favouring a switch to Manchester City. City were ready to spend big, willing to push to £85m to get him.

Liverpool stalled. Not out of hesitation over his quality, but because they simply couldn’t line up a replacement as the deadline loomed. The clock kept ticking, the phone kept ringing, and Gakpo stayed put.

Now he is repaying that decision with interest.

He has been one of Liverpool’s standout performers through pre-season and into the opening weeks of the campaign. Against Ipswich, he backed that form up with cold, clinical end product: twice sliding passes into Isak, twice watching the Swede punish the Tractor Boys.

Afterwards, Iraola made it clear he never flinched.

“I had no doubt with Cody. He has been very, very good. All pre-season, [and] has started very well this season, producing numbers,” he told reporters. The numbers at Portman Road told their own story.

The pressure Ipswich tried to build never quite landed. Every time Liverpool broke, Gakpo hovered between the lines, always offering, always dangerous.

A No. 9 to finish the job

The night wasn’t just about his creativity. As the game tightened and Liverpool looked to close it out, Iraola pushed Gakpo inside to finish as the No. 9.

“Today, even after the two assists, he finishes as the No. 9 to help us close the game,” Iraola said. “It’s good to have Cody because he can play in the three positions up top, like all of our other players. To have him in this place for the beginning of the season is good.”

That versatility is exactly why Liverpool held their nerve in the market. Left, right, through the middle — Gakpo gives Iraola options, and options are gold in a season that will be crammed with fixtures.

Iraola made no attempt to hide how highly he rates him.

“I think Cody knows how much we value him. I think there is no doubt. I rate him very highly. I will demand [a lot] of him, obviously,” he said. The message was clear: admiration, yes, but no comfort zone.

Competition will see to that.

Barcola arrives into a crowded attack

Gakpo’s performance came on a night when Liverpool’s new £123m signing Bradley Barcola also stepped into the Premier League spotlight. The Frenchman, who had not played a single minute since the World Cup, was eased in from the bench.

And yet even his introduction underlined just how fierce the battle for attacking minutes will be.

“Now with Bradley, with Rio, with Victor, it’s a matter of sometimes they will start, sometimes they will come from the bench, sometimes they will not play,” Iraola said. “But this competition, I think, is going to be good for our team.”

Barcola’s cameo hinted at why Liverpool pushed so hard to bring him in. He looked raw but threatening, carrying the ball with purpose and constantly stretching Ipswich’s back line.

“I think Bradley hadn’t played a single minute since the World Cup so we needed to be careful,” Iraola explained. “I think he is training well, in a good place, and I think that he has helped us.”

The understanding is not fully there yet. Iraola admitted Liverpool “probably… haven’t found him in a couple of situations where I think he was going against the ‘keeper,” the kind of runs that will come with rhythm and familiarity.

Even so, there were flashes. A sharp counter, a crisp pass that Gakpo finished — only for the goal not to stand — and constant movement that unsettled Ipswich.

“When he carries the ball, I think you can feel this threat,” Iraola said. “I’m happy because I think 30 minutes is going to be good for his fitness, for his build-up, and we will continue because now we play a lot of games, so he will have a chance to play more.”

Patience and pressure

Liverpool’s manager urged a sense of calm around Barcola’s adaptation.

“I think it’s normal, he hasn’t played any pre-season minutes,” Iraola noted. “I think he’s still in a good place. I don’t think he will need something like a very special build-up, but we have to be aware that he hasn’t been playing in a while and the demands of the games are very different from training, so we have got to consider this.”

The contrast between the two forwards is striking. Gakpo, sharp and fully tuned, already driving Liverpool’s attack. Barcola, expensive and exciting, still at the start of his climb back to full sharpness.

Between them, and with Rio and Victor also in the mix, Iraola suddenly has the kind of depth that can define a season.

For now, though, this night belonged to Gakpo — the winger who didn’t leave, the forward his manager never doubted, and the player who has turned a summer of speculation into a platform for something far more dangerous for the rest of the league.