7 duels won: National media laud Liverpool wizard as his country’s ‘best player’ in weekend win | OneFootball

One Liverpool player came in for plenty of praise from the media in his homeland after his latest exploits on international duty.

Of the four Dutchmen in Arne Slot’s squad, just two were involved in the Oranje’s 3-2 win over Lithuania on Sunday. Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo started, with Ryan Gravenberch an unused substitute, and Jeremie Frimpong remained on Merseyside to recover from a minor injury.

A hard-fought win for the Euro 2024 semi-finalists saw Memphis Depay become his country’s all-time leading scorer, partly thanks to the Reds’ number 18, who provided the assist for the goal which saw the Corinthians forward break the record.

Dutch media praise Gakpo after narrow victory

The Liverpool forward also struck the crossbar in Kaunas on an evening when (in stark contrast to Florian Wirtz in Germany) his performance earned him plenty of acclaim from the Dutch media.

De Telegraaf handed him a rating of 7/10 as they opined: ‘The great thing about Gakpo, who was again the best player, is that unlike other wingers who are always in the mix for the Dutch team, he has the solution when opponents double up on him.’

The 26-year-old was also rated as a 7/10 by Football Oranje, who described him as Netherlands’ ‘biggest threat’ and added that he ‘needs some support from the right wing’.

(Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Gakpo has been in good form for both Liverpool and Netherlands

After seeing Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak come in at Anfield to add fresh competition in attack, Gakpo will feel that his standout performance against Lithuania came at the right time in terms of trying to hold down a starting berth in Slot’s line-up.

In addition to his assist for Depay on Sunday, the Liverpool winger won seven duels, completed 27 of his 32 passes (84%) and five out of six dribbles (83.3%), took four shots and delivered two successful crosses and three key passes, as per Sofascore.

The 26-year-old has also had a quietly effective start to the season for the Reds, following up his goal against Bournemouth with a pair of assists in the 3-2 win at Newcastle (Transfermarkt).

Amid all the focus on the new signings at Anfield, Gakpo’s form has perhaps gone under the radar, but it won’t be lost on Slot or his coaching staff, who’ll also have been delighted with his latest Netherlands display (and not just because of the shared nationality!).

In a Dutch team brimming with quality players (and now including their all-time record goalscorer), that Liverpool’s number 18 has been a standout performer reflects wonderfully on him. Let’s hope he can continue to make a telling impact for his club in the weeks and months ahead!