Advertisement

Liverpool star slammed after 'selfish' international performance earns him low rating

A Liverpool star has been slammed after a 'selfish' international performance earned him a low rating.

Up to 20 Reds have been away on international duty over the past 10 days and the majority have enjoyed success with their nations and come away from overseas commitments unscathed, much to the delight of Arne Slot.

But the recent break also afforded players on the fringes of Liverpool's starting XI to show the new manager what they can do, with the Reds so far sticking with the same team for all three games this season bar one half-time change.

READ MORE: Liverpool news and transfers LIVE: Kylian Mbappe agreement, Elliott blow, Alexander-Arnold 'talks'

READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp already hinted at Liverpool's failed move for Kylian Mbappe after transfer bombshell

One of those players would have been Cody Gakpo, who has been restricted to 53 minutes of action across three substitute appearances so far in 2024-25, yet his recent performance for the Netherlands would appear to have done him no favors.

The 25-year-old grabbed himself a goal in the 5-2 mauling of Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday, featuring for 66 minutes in the Nations League clash, before once again being named in the starting lineup for Tuesday's 2-2 draw with Germany - this time managing the full 90 minutes.

However, that may certainly come as a surprise to many given how Gakpo was rated for his performance in the stalemate by national media, who slammed the winger for his "selfish" performance.

Dutch outlet Voetbal International rated him a 6, the second-lowest rating of any player, while Voetbal Primeur gave him a 6.5 rating, adding: “Gakpo was threatening on a couple of occasions and had multiple chances but failed to pull the trigger. He was also a bit selfish, while teammates were in better shape.”

According to SofaScore, Gakpo touched the ball just 40 times in 90 minutes, lost possession eight times, misplaced four out of his 21 passes and lost four duels. Off the back of this, it appears the Dutchman has done nothing to help his chances of displacing Luis Diaz on Liverpool's left wing ahead of this weekend.

Yet it's night and day compared to his Euro 2024 performances, where Gakpo was highlighted as one of the players of the tournament following three goals in six appearances to help the Netherlands reach the semi-finals.

But perhaps Gakpo's sloppy performance on Tuesday was to be expected, given he is yet to start a game for Liverpool this season. However, with the Reds due to play seven games in three weeks starting this weekend, with the Champions League and Carabao Cup also back underway, he'll have plenty of chances to prove himself.