Liverpool had secured three consecutive wins in the Premier League after a tough defeat to Manchester City. However, after a solid performance against West Ham United, they faced another setback by losing to Wolves, a team also fighting relegation.
Manager Arne Slot has faced criticism for another disappointing performance, and his choice to rely on Cody Gakpo has also come under scrutiny due to one of the worst performances by a winger this season.
Gakpo demonstrated many of Liverpool’s struggles in this match. While teammate Mohamed Salah managed to score, Gakpo failed to contribute effectively.
With Florian Wirtz out due to injury, Slot made the questionable decision to center the Liverpool attack around Gakpo. The issue is that Gakpo is not a top-level left winger and struggles to create opportunities against Premier League defenders, unlike his predecessor, Luis Diaz.
Gakpo registered no key passes or completed dribbles, even with plenty of attacking opportunities. He was ineffective in generating creativity, and while he lost the ball less frequently than Salah, he similarly failed to use possession advantageously.
It’s become clear that Liverpool needs a new left winger to replace Gakpo in the summer, and given his current performance, they might need to significantly reduce his playing time as he is hurting the team.