Arne Slot handed Liverpool headache after unlikely star makes Euros statement

16 June 2024 , 18:54

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New Liverpool boss Arne Slot (Image: Getty Images)

Liverpool star Cody Gakpo sent a message to new boss Arne Slot after playing a starring role as the Netherlands beat Poland 2-1 in their Euro 2024 opener.

Gakpo scored his side's equaliser after Adam Buksa gave Poland an early lead, with a late strike from substitute Wout Weghorst earning the Dutch an important win. Gakpo was named player of the match for his performance, with the 25-year-old impressing out wide.

Playing on the left-wing is Gakpo's preferred position, but with competition from the likes of Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez he has not featured there much for Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp.

Gakpo completed a full 90 minutes just three times in the Premier League last season, with the majority of his game time coming through the middle. However, the arrival of Slot could see Gakpo given more chances in his preferred position, particularly if he continues to impress at the Euros.

He previously competed against Slot's Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar teams during his time at PSV Eindhoven and when asked if he felt the Dutchman would be a good fit at Anfield, he told De Telegraaf: "I think so, otherwise the club wouldn't have appointed him.

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"If you talk about neat football and high pressure, with the latter being a very big characteristic of us under Jurgen Klopp, then that is also something we are certainly used to. I have not spoken to him before… [but] I do know that he has always made it very difficult for us at PSV and is known as a very good trainer, of course."

Gakpo will now turn his attention to the Netherlands' upcoming clash with France on Friday and he admitted they will need to be "more clinical" when they take on one of the favourites to win the tournament.

(Getty Images)

"It was a tough match, against a tough opponent," he said of the win over Poland. "Obviously, they scored first, so it was a little bit more difficult. But we created a lot of good opportunities, good chances.

"We have to be more clinical. But overall, I think we performed really well. We are a team that never gives up, and we have good substitutes. We changed the whole front line and they came in and performed very well. So yes, that's a strength as well."

Matthew Cooper