Cody Gakpo has achieved what no Liverpool player had been able to accomplish in over 20 years during his team’s 2-1 win over Fulham in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.
Willian’s early goal put Jurgen Klopp’s team behind in a tense first half, but they rallied in the second half.
Curtis Jones’ deflected goal levelled the score for Liverpool after Fulham had missed multiple chances. And Gakpo’s goal three minutes later cemented the victory.
But, Fulham’s Bernd Leno made some spectacular saves to deny Darwin Nunez, limiting the Cottagers’ deficit to just one. Given their performance in the first sixty-five minutes, they will be optimistic about winning the second leg at Craven Cottage.
However, the evening belonged to Liverpool and their goal scorer, Gakpo, who accomplished something that no Reds player has. At least since cult hero Vladimir Smicer in the 2000–01 season was able to do so.
The Dutchman’s goal now makes it four goals in a row for him in Carabao Cup games.
In the three previous rounds, he scored against West Ham, Bournemouth, and Leicester. If he scores in the semi-final return leg, Liverpool will undoubtedly go a long way toward making it to the cup final for the second time in three seasons.
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Speaking to Sky Sports as echoed by SportBible after full time at Anfield, Gakpo remarked: “It’s the mentality in this group, in the club, in the city. Everybody is like this – mentality, just keep going, no matter what happens.
“We showed it again today. If you’ve got that mentality, a lot of beautiful things can happen.”
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