Cody Gakpo Shines as Bradley Barcola Faces Competition at Liverpool

Jamie Carragher believes Bradley Barcola could be facing a long wait for minutes at Liverpool if Cody Gakpo keeps playing like this.

The former Liverpool defender watched Andoni Iraola’s side finally bank their first win of the Premier League season with a sharp, ruthless 2-0 victory at Portman Road on Friday night. After back‑to‑back 2-2 draws against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest and plenty of criticism flying around, Liverpool needed a statement. They got one inside nine minutes.

Two rapid strikes from Alexander Isak settled the contest early, and while the Sweden striker took the headlines on the scoresheet, Gakpo quietly ran the show.

Gakpo shines, Barcola warned

Gakpo produced two moments of real class to carve Ipswich open, with his second assist the standout: an outrageous outside-of-the-boot through ball that sliced in behind the home defence and sent Isak clear for Liverpool’s second.

That was enough for Carragher to fire off a pointed verdict on X about Liverpool’s £123m summer signing from Paris Saint-Germain.

“Barcola is going to struggle to get a game with this version of Gakpo,” he wrote.

It was a line that captured the mood. Liverpool have invested heavily in Barcola, but the man currently in possession of the shirt is in no mood to step aside.

Gakpo had already been one of Liverpool’s standout performers in pre-season and across the opening weeks of the campaign. Interest from Manchester City and Tottenham was brushed away as the club chose to keep him at Anfield, and nights like this show exactly why.

Van Dijk: ‘He’s important for us’

Virgil van Dijk underlined just how central Gakpo has become to Liverpool’s plans.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the win, the Liverpool captain said: “Cody was outstanding. He’s important for us and he will be important this season as well.

“He showed it today, last week as well with the assist and over the last couple of years.”

Ipswich did not roll over. They registered 14 shots and asked questions, but Liverpool’s attacking quality at key moments decided the game. When Gakpo found space, Ipswich’s back line simply could not live with his precision.

Isak finds his stride

If last season was a stuttering start to life at Liverpool for Isak after his big-money move from Newcastle United, this felt like a reset. Injury issues had blunted his impact, but at Portman Road he looked sharp, aggressive and ruthless.

Two chances. Two goals. Exactly what Iraola has been demanding.

“He’s a massive player for us,” the Liverpool manager said. “My demands will probably not be about the goals. I know he is fit and in good shape. He’s going to produce the numbers.

“My fight with him will be more about other stuff, how to help the team in other situations – but it is good he has already played two full games, scoring the goals, so I am very happy to have him.”

Isak echoed that sense of a team beginning to click.

“We were waiting for the first win,” he said. “We talked about starting the game good, which we haven’t done recently, so it was perfect for us to get two good quick goals.

“With a normal pre-season, I think we are starting to get to the way we want to play. To be offensive and attack the defence. I think we did that. We scored two, and we could have scored more.”

Liverpool’s attack already looks rejuvenated, with Gakpo and Isak dovetailing to decisive effect even before Barcola has kicked a competitive ball for the club. If this level from Gakpo holds, Iraola’s biggest early-season problem might not be creating chances, but finding a way to fit a £123m signing into a forward line that suddenly looks locked in.