Last season, as Liverpool’s attempt to shift towards a more controlled game under former manager Arne Slot failed to lead to good results or good football, the team became stuck in what almost seemed a negative feedback loop chasing ever more control and taking fewer risks.
Those efforts never paid off, and rather than changing course the team doubled down and doubled down again chasing after the sunk cost. If more control was the answer, as they seemed convinced it was, then the answer to things
not working out was more control. And when that didn’t work out, the answer was more control.
By the end of the season, the mood was toxic, both surrounding manager Slot as well as a handful of players who grew to represent that approach. The arrival of Andoni Iraola as manager this season, though, has brought with it a return of high-intensity, front-footed football.
It has also brought with it a revival for one of last season’s most-maligned players in winger Cody Gakpo, who seemed determined to execute the controlled approach his manager wanted last year even if it hurt his own game—and who has been back to his old self since Iraola arrived and loosed the reins.
“I think the most positive thing is that we feel that we are growing,” Gakpo said after Sunday’s thorough 2-0 win over a Brighton side that had been the talk of the Premier League in the early going this season. “Obviously where it will end we don’t know, but we’re going to see in the end.
“Sometimes you don’t have this feeling. Sometimes you have the feeling you’re playing well because [you win] But we have a feeling that we are growing every game and things are looking better and better. We will play some games where we will not be as good, but if we can keep this mentality to go all-in it’s good.”
Heading into Sunday, Liverpool had won their past three games in all competitions by a score of 12-7. While the goals scored tally was impressive, they were still more open than was ideal at the back. Plus, no opponent had been as strong as a Brighton sat third in the league.
Against Brighton, they were even better. For a side still adapting to the pressing and passing patterns of a new manager two months into the season, it was the kind of performance and result that can fill a team and fanbase with confidence that they’re on the right track.
“I think the last few games [Brighton] were flying, scoring a lot of goals, they don’t really concede much,” Gakpo added. “So it was a real team win. I think we showed a lot of bravery in defence, sometimes just taking a risk one-on-one at the back, but I think we as players and the staff trust us in those positions.
“Then we feel like we can go and try to create something. Obviously sometimes it won’t work out, but then we can just keep going and everybody can try to make the best out of it wanting more and then the coach obviously is always pushing us to keep going.”
