Nunez-Gakpo-Salah can lead Liverpool to Champions League promised land

Jacque Talbot

• Updated: 14 Feb 2023 13:53 GMT
• 3 min read

Whisper it, but the win over Everton had all the hallmarks of the Liverpool we’ve grown accustomed to under Jurgen Klopp.

Was it a great performance? Relative to his tenure, probably not. The defence, particularly in the first-half, looked unsure of themselves and open at periods.

But as the game went on, Everton were denied any way in. Ellis Simms was supposed to be receiving the ball between the lines, holding up play and feeding in the likes of Alex Iwobi and Dwight McNeil, but he could barely keep hold of it.

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But this piece will look at the opposite end of the pitch. Cody Gakpo played through the middle, with Mohamed Salah on the right and Darwin Nunez on the left.

The trio looked far more dangerous than they have done before. We all remember the halcyon days of Salah, Roberto Firimino and Sadio Mane, but Klopp may well have found a fitting replacement.

The three operate in slightly different roles to the trio that came before them: Salah remains an attack-minded winger, whose job it is to find goals. Gakpo doesn’t force turnovers high up the pitch as much as Firmino, but, with his Eredivisie form very much in mind, he’s more of refined finisher than the Brazilian and has the pace and carrying ability to spread teams open through the middle.

It would be fair to say Nunez still could probably add more goals to his game, with just five in the Premier League so far, but against Everton the former Benfica man showed just how electric he is on the counter; his carry and pass to Salah for Liverpool’s opening goal was sublime and he caused Seamus Coleman a headache all evening, after the Irishman won the first few initial duals.

The Salah-Gakpo-Nunez contingent has played 289 mins of football together. In that time, Nunez has managed a goal and assist, Salah has found two goals, and Gakpo, perhaps now recovered from his teething problems, now has a goal for himself as well.

Can the Reds make the UCL?

With the Salah-Firimino-Mane era still fresh in the memory it’s easy to get carried away, but looking up the table, the future is starting to seem brighter for Liverpool.

A Champions League spot had been all but written off but a win against Newcastle on Saturday would put the Reds six points behind the fourth-place Magpies and with a game in hand. Tottenham in fifth just got battered 4-1 by Leicester, and even Man United have had the occasional howler this season.

This new trio could lead the way in Liverpool salvaging their season. The purchases of Nunez and Gakpo have rasied plenty of eyebrows, but the display over the Toffees was a slight indication of just why Klopp wanted to bring them in and what they could provide.