Liverpool have unexpected answer to question despite Jurgen Klopp offering apology

This season, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo have made the most appearances for Liverpool, but that doesn’t fully reflect the attacking duo’s abilities.

Cody Gakpo of Liverpool celebrates scoring with team-mates Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones during the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Fulham at Anfield on January 10 2024 (Image: 2024 Chris Brunskill/Fantasista)

It’s quiz time, and anyone who searches Google for the answer will be eliminated right away. Which two players are the ones who have played the most for Liverpool this year?

Virgil van Dijk isn’t among them; he doesn’t place in the top five. The unwavering Luis Diaz is not involved either, despite being a little closer to the front-running pair. Although they are both excellent suggestions, neither Joe Gomez nor Harvey Elliott is included in the right response.

With 40 games apiece, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo have made the most appearances for Jurgen Klopp’s team this season. Give yourself a pat on the back, then.

Naturally, the injury crisis that has plagued the Liverpool team for the majority of the season and kept nearly all of their regular players out of action at one point is a contributing factor. Having said that, Nunez and Gakpo have both experienced periods of injury, albeit brief ones.

It is even more surprising that they are setting the example because, in an ideal world, they would both like to play center forward. After impressing during his mid-season arrival from PSV Eindhoven, Gakpo had taken that slot in the final months of the previous season, but Nunez emerged as the first choice after maintaining his form during the summer friendlies.

Gakpo’s versatility has been a boon and a bane for Liverpool; when on the bench, it frequently makes him one of the team’s first substitutes, but it also makes it challenging for him to establish a consistent role. Four of his 24 starts have come on the right flank, one on the left, and three in midfield, despite a healthy 16 of them coming in the middle of the attack. Nunez, on the other hand, has only started two out of 25 games without starting as the primary striker.

There were two stints during which Gakpo used those players as backup midfielders: one at the start of the season and another in the middle of November. Additionally, Klopp expressed regret last month for undermining the 24-year-old’s momentum. “I was more to blame for Cody’s struggles during the off-season,” the Reds manager admitted. “We discussed whether Cody could play midfield for us, and the answer is that he can at certain times. Is that his role? No, I would say.

Gakpo has still contributed a respectable amount to the offensive effort with his 11 goals and 5 assists, but it falls short of Nunez’s (16 goals and 12 assists) total. The Uruguayan has played just 87 more minutes on the field this season than his teammate, even though both players are behind Van Dijk, Diaz, Gomez, and Alexis Mac Allister in that category.

Nunez and Gakpo started the Europa League round of 16 first-leg match at Sparta Prague on Thursday for the seventh time this season, despite their frequent appearances together. Given that they have played on the same field in 23 games, it is not usually a case of one or the other. However, on 11 occasions during a game, they have switched positions, with Nunez substituting for Gakpo five times this season and the opposite occurring six times.

The most recent instance of the latter occurred on Sunday when Nunez was replaced with 14 minutes remaining after winning the penalty that Mac Allister eventually converted to earn a point against Premier League title rivals Manchester City.

The Dutchman has some relief if Gakpo’s performance afterward wasn’t as savage as his new hairstyle. Klopp has been forced to rely heavily on Gakpo due to the ongoing injury crisis, which has particularly affected the forward line with Mohamed Salah out for almost two months and Diogo Jota and teenager Ben Doak both still out. Prior to City’s visit, Gakpo had played at least 84 minutes in each of the previous five games.

Although Salah is back available, Liverpool’s 5-1 lead over Sparta heading into Thursday’s return match at Anfield means the Egyptian won’t likely be risked from the outset, with Gakpo almost certainly needing to start again, especially since the Reds are still aware of Nunez’s recent hamstring injury.

Due to numerous absences, Klopp has had to use 34 different players this season in an attempt to secure an unprecedented quadruple. And Nunez and Gakpo have been the most depended upon of all, albeit in frequently different ways.