Cody Gakpo broke Jurgen Klopp’s ‘golden rule’ just before scoring his first goal for Liverpool

Reports suggested that Cody Gakpo broke Jurgen Klopp’s ‘golden rule’ just before scoring his first goal for Liverpool

Cody Gakpo has finally left for Liverpool, but did he break a Jurgen Klopp ‘rule’ ahead of the Merseyside Derby?

Cody Gakpo of Liverpool FC celebrates after scoring his second goal during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Everton FC at Anfield on February 13, 2023.
Liverpool newcomer Cody Gakpo announced himself with a goal against Everton at Anfield on Monday – but is he up to date with all of Jurgen Klopp’s rules?
The Dutchman, 23, has made seven appearances for the Reds since the £37million transfer from PSV Eindhoven to Merseyside last month.

Settling in, the striker has now made his mark, netting Liverpool’s second goal against their city rivals in a well-deserved 2-0 win. But before kick-off, eagle-eyed fans watched the Dutch international perform a ritual that is technically forbidden to him, at least for now. When Gakpo entered the pitch before the match, he touched the ‘This is Anfield’ sign above his head as he walked through the tunnel onto the pitch.

Innocent as it may seem, he contradicts a “rule” that Kop Klopp’s boss introduced early in his reign. In 2016 he said: “I’ve told my players not to touch the ‘This Is Anfield’ board until they’ve won something!”

Liverpool have topped the table in terms of trophies since the new rule was shared by their manager, but new players like Gakpo have yet to earn that privilege. Even the summer signing of Darwin Nunez could argue his reasons given that he has already won the Community Shield with the Reds, but it is still very early for the new number 18. The gesture leaves a few questions unanswered. Was Gakpo aware of the rule or has Klopp changed it since the club succeeded again? Has he already done this?

Gakpo

Perhaps more importantly, will Gakpo dare to repeat the trick after scoring his first goal in the next match? Maybe it will bring him luck. Either way, Liverpool fans won’t mind if the former Eindhoven star can continue to increase his goal tally, including 13 goals for PSV this season and three in the World Cup for the Netherlands.

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Liverpool made three changes to their 24-man Champions League squad in the second half of the season, including Cody Gakpo, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The Reds have made full use of their three allocated changes, including their January signing and midfield duo, who were both ruled out in the first half of the season through injury.