Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo impressed on his first competitive start under Arne Slot, setting up Dominik Szoboszlai's goal against AC Milan in the Champions League.
And the 25-year-old former PSV winger achieved exactly what he set out to do when coming into the team in place of Luis Diaz. "I think we had more chances but they were dangerous in moments as well," he told Amazon Prime at the final whistle. "We controlled the game pretty good and it's a fair result for us.
"We stayed calm and stayed focus. We have to thank our center-backs for two great headers. After that moment we controlled the game better. We work on set-pieces before every game and we're very happy it worked out today.
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"Every player wants to play and I got my moment. I really wanted to show myself and I am very happy with an assist but also especially with the win."
Gakpo certainly made an impact, being one of the outstanding players in the Liverpool side on the night. And Slot revealed afterward that he would have begun the game with Nottingham Forest had he not returned from international duty with fatigue.
Playing two lots of 90 minutes for the Netherlands during the international break, Diaz ended up coming back from his time with Colombia in better shape and so he was selected instead. Gakpo then started the midweek match and his performance gave Slot something of a decision to make ahead of Saturday's visit of Bournemouth to Anfield.
Liverpool.com says: Gakpo should retain his place in the team at the weekend based on his performance against AC Milan but Diaz has started the season nicely as well. It's a nice headache for Slot to have with two quality options for the same role.
