As most of his regular teammates put their feet up for a deserved night off, Cody Gakpo was starting against PSV Eindhoven in what was effectively a dead rubber for Liverpool in the Champions League.

Only Gakpo and Andy Robertson kept their places from the team that started against Ipswich in the Premier League on Saturday, with Slot clearly resting most of his stars for a potentially tricky assignment at Bournemouth this weekend.

Gakpo, of course, signed for Liverpool from PSV two years ago, and there was clearly some sentiment involved when Slot made the decision to start the winger against his old club.

It didn't take the 25-year-old long to make an impact on proceedings as he dispatched a penalty after Federico Chiesa was fouled inside the penalty area.

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Gakpo showed his respect for his former club by not celebrating, simply turning around and clasping hands with his Reds teammates before the restart.

The Dutch winger was replaced a few minutes into the second half and was applauded from all four sides of the stadium, and he responded by acknowledging both sets of fans before taking his place on the Liverpool bench.

Gakpo faced reporters in a pre-match press conference on Tuesday and described the chance to return to his old club as "a beautiful moment."

"It's a special moment for me, of course," Gakpo said. "I'm looking forward to being on the pitch tomorrow. [It will be] pretty strange. I think I've never been in the away dressing room, so it will be the first time and on the other side of the walkout. So, different than I was used to.

"But when the game will start I think all those things will fade away and we all will be focused on the game. With the team we have, we are here and we are going for the win. Hopefully it will be a good game."

He added: "Hopefully [I get] a good reception from the fans. I think I always had a good connection with them, so I'm looking forward to seeing them again tomorrow.

"I got the question from the manager [about staying at home with the majority of Liverpool's other senior players] but I didn't play one minute against Lille last week [and] also from the manager's point of view [he knew] that I would probably like to come over here and get some minutes here. So, that's why I'm here."