Liverpool Wins Champions League Opener but Gakpo's Fitness in Doubt

Liverpool’s Champions League league-phase campaign began with a win – and a worry.

They edged past Atletico 2–1, but did it without one of their sharpest attacking weapons. Cody Gakpo never even made the bench.

The Dutch forward missed Tuesday’s key training session and was ruled out entirely, with head coach Andoni Iraola revealing the 25-year-old has niggles in both adductors after his previous 90-minute outing.

“He doesn’t have a proper injury,” Iraola told the club’s official channels, “but he finished with niggles in both of the adductors the other day. We expected to have him for today, [but] it hasn’t been possible. It’s not a big thing, but the problem is we play here [again] in two days and a half.”

So Liverpool celebrated a hard-fought European victory, yet walked away counting the cost.

Gakpo’s flying start stalled

The timing could hardly be worse. Under his new manager, Gakpo has exploded into the season.

• Three games.
• One goal.
• Three assists.
• Constant menace.

His most recent league outing underlined that surge. On Friday night he went the distance, playing the full 90 minutes and running the show in a 2–0 win over Ipswich Town. He laid on both goals for Alexander Isak, a performance that looked like the launchpad for a huge campaign.

Instead, those exertions have left Iraola juggling his options.

The medical verdict is encouraging in one sense: Liverpool do not believe this is a serious, long-term problem. No muscle tear, no definitive lay-off. Just enough pain to keep him out of a Champions League opener.

But with such a brutal schedule, “just enough” is suddenly a major issue.

Fulham dilemma looms

Liverpool are back at it in two and a half days, hosting Fulham in a game Iraola openly labels “very important”.

Asked if Gakpo could return in time, he did not sugar-coat the uncertainty.

“I don’t know [if he will be back for Fulham]. I hope so, but I don’t know,” he admitted. “I think now is a moment of recovery in these two days. Let’s see how Bradley has finished, how Cody is [and] if he can give us some minutes. If not, Rio, Victor, I think today everyone has done a big effort.”

That is the crux. Liverpool’s early-season intensity, the demand to go full throttle in Europe and domestically, is already stretching the squad. Gakpo’s blistering form has made him central to Iraola’s attacking plan; his absence instantly reshapes it.

Iraola’s message, though, is clear: rest, reassess, and hope.

“We need to recover, we need to regroup and think because in two days and a half we play again here [against] Fulham, it’s a very important game again for us. So, I hope we can have Cody with us, but I cannot guarantee it.”

Liverpool have their win. Now they wait on the player who has been driving this new era from the front.