The Reds have surprisingly struggled to find form given how strong and consistent they were last season.
Arne Slot’s problems are mounting and his job is now in jeopardy at the club, despite winning the Premier League title a few months ago.
After the match against Sunderland, Slot admitted that one of his players struggled to perform against a strong Sunderland team at Anfield.
He named Cody Gakpo, 26, as the player who failed to impress in the match and that ultimately became the reason why Slot took the player off at half-time and replaced him with Mohamed Salah.
Arne Slot criticized Liverpool star Cody Gakpo
He said, as reported by Liverpool official website:
“In my opinion, Cody struggled to dominate the one-on-one. Like I said, they pressed high, but also in several situations they were in a low block, [so] the way to score is quite simple: you need a magical moment from a player or you need a set piece to score.
“I felt like Cody struggled to find that moment in the first half because it was hard for him to dominate the one-on-one or get crosses.”
Reds expect more from the Dutch attacker
Gakpo, 26, has failed to find consistency this season and with more responsibility on his shoulders now, following the departure of Luis Diaz in the summer transfer window, the Dutchman has failed to take on the leadership role at the club.
Only five goals in twenty games for Gakpo this season and especially at a time when Alexander Isak and Mohamed Salah are struggling to perform, more was expected from the Dutchman, but he has failed to live up to the expectations of the manager and the fans.
Slot would hope that the forward can improve his form against Leeds United in the next match and help the team turn around their poor form.
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