Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo has taken a dig at Jurgen Klopp for his underwhelming performances last season while praising Arne Slot, who has been given a new nickname by a Sky Sports pundit after the Reds’ Premier League title success.
A 5-1 hammering of Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Sunday has seen Liverpool secure the Premier League title in Slot’s first season in charge of the Reds. It was supposed to be a tough campaign for Liverpool following the departure of Klopp as the club’s manager at the end of last season, but Slot has taken everything in his stride and has been a huge success.
Liverpool were at their very best against Spurs, with Gakpo among the goalscorers.
The Netherlands international forward was deployed on the left of a three-man attacking midfield in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
It was the £35million star’s 17th goal of the season for Liverpool, with the 25-year-old revealing that he is much happier now in his position than he was under Klopp in the 2023-24 campaign.
After Liverpool’s record-equalling 20th league title triumph, Gakpo explained that playing in a number of positions under Klopp last season affected him.
Gakpo mainly as a centre-forward last season, with Klopp also using him as a left-winger, right-winger and even as a central midfielder at times.
The forward told Sky Sports: “It sounds cliched but I’m playing in my natural position now, which brings more confidence.
“The way we play gets me into positions – I’m confident to take on my man or go inside or outside.
“Last year it was very difficult for me to get some real form because I played in so many different positions and couldn’t really adapt to one.”
Jamie Redknapp has joined Gakpo in his praise of Slot, with the former Liverpool midfielder describing the 46-year-old as ‘The Cool One’ after he became the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League.
Redknapp told Sky Sports: “When you say they have no major signings, the major signing was the manager.
“I spoke to Richard Hughes about this and I said ‘why Arne Slot?’ He said, ‘Because everything pointed towards a man that could handle that big club mentality, you have to not just manage the team but you have to manage expectations. You have to be calm about managing this club.’
“I think the way that he has done that has been absolutely phenomenal. He’s a super cool guy. When [Jose] Mourinho came in, he was the special one. This guy is the cool one. He doesn’t get flustered.”
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Arne Slot praises Jurgen Klopp after Liverpool title success
Liverpool went behind at Anfield after 12 minutes when Dominic Solanke put Tottenham in the lead.
However, once Luis Diaz had restored parity just four minutes later, a Liverpool win was never in doubt.
In the end, the Reds registered a comprehensive 5-1 victory, with Slot over the moon with his team and also thanking Klopp.
Slot told Sky Sports: “[Conceding first] wasn’t ideal but I trust my players. They always find a way to win. I don’t think we could have lost today if you were in this stadium.
“Our main focus was to win this game. Everyone was saying we had already won it. But we still felt the pressure to get the point over the line.
“Almost the whole season we were on the top of the league and had a team that could win it. We know how tough the Premier League is, but we always had the belief we could win it.
“The work Jurgen [Klopp] and Pep [Lijnders] left, the culture, work rate, quality, was outstanding.
“We started [the season] really well and maybe it helped that City had a difficult spell that they have not had in five years.
“When the season started, we would have been happy with top four. But I don’t think that is fair on the players as they are much better than that and they have shown it this season.”
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