Gakpo's Absence Overshadows Liverpool's Champions League Win

Liverpool walked out for their Champions League league-phase opener against Atletico with a notable gap on the teamsheet. No Cody Gakpo. Not even on the bench.

The Dutch forward had missed Tuesday’s key training session and never came close to being involved as Liverpool ground out a 2–1 win. For a side built on rhythm and repetition in attack, his absence was impossible to ignore.

Head coach Iraola later explained why. Gakpo, he revealed, had picked up niggles in both adductors after his previous 90-minute outing. Not a tear, not a long-term problem – but enough pain to shut the door on any risk.

"I don't know [if he will be back for Fulham]. I hope so, but I don't know. He doesn't have a proper injury, but he finished with niggles in both of the adductors the other day," Iraola told the club’s official website, underlining the fine line between precaution and necessity at this stage of the season.

Liverpool had expected him back in time for Atletico. The plan was to push recovery, test him late, and have him available in some capacity. The reality was different.

"We expected to have him for today, [but] it hasn't been possible. It's not a big thing, but the problem is we play here [again] in two days and a half," Iraola admitted, frustration clear in the tight turnaround he kept referencing.

Blistering start interrupted

The timing could hardly be worse for player or manager. Gakpo has exploded under his new boss, tearing into the campaign with the sort of form that reshapes a frontline.

• One goal.
• Three assists.
• Just three matches.

Numbers that only tell part of the story. His most recent league outing underlined it: a full 90 minutes on Friday night, dictating the attacking tempo and laying on two goals for Alexander Isak in a controlled 2-0 win over Ipswich Town. That performance looked like a launchpad. Instead, it became the trigger for an enforced pause.

The adductor issues are not expected to derail his season. Inside the club, the mood around his fitness remains broadly positive. The problem is not the diagnosis. It is the schedule.

Fulham looming, decisions coming fast

Liverpool are back at it in two and a half days, again at home, this time against Fulham. Another “very important game,” as Iraola put it. Another night when Gakpo’s creativity and drive between the lines would be invaluable.

Between now and then, the message from the manager is simple: survive the turnaround.

"I think now is a moment of recovery in these two days. Let's see how Bradley has finished, how Cody is [and] if he can give us some minutes. If not, Rio, Victor, I think today everyone has done a big effort," Iraola said, name-checking the options who may be asked to step back into the spotlight if Gakpo cannot.

"We need to recover, we need to regroup and think because in two days and a half we play again here [against] Fulham, it's a very important game again for us. So, I hope we can have Cody with us, but I cannot guarantee it."

So Liverpool head into the weekend juggling optimism and uncertainty. Their in-form forward is close, but not cleared. The games keep coming. The question now is simple: can Gakpo’s body keep pace with the tempo his football has just set?