'Bit of a dip' - Jurgen Klopp names Liverpool pair who have struggled for form recently

Jurgen Klopp believes that Cody Gakpo has recaptured his best Liverpool form.

The striker helped the Reds bounced back to winning ways in the Premier League as they earned a 3-1 triumph over Fulham last weekend. Gakpo recorded the assist for Diogo Jota’s goal to put the gloss on the victory as Liverpool moved level on points with leaders Arsenal in the title race.

Gakpo’s performances have been eye-catching of late, having also earned plaudits over the two legs in the Europa League quarter-final defeat by Atalanta and in his substitute cameos in a 1-1 draw against Manchester United and 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace.

Klopp previously admitted that he caused the Holland international’s confidence to take a knock when being deployed in midfield earlier in the season. But Gakpo has been in fine fettle of late, while Wataru Endo also showed better signs in the second half against Fulham.

The Anfield boss said: “The best finisher in this club is obviously Mo Salah with some distance. It is just super-cool to have Diogo back, he can play all three positions up front. It is as important that Cody Gakpo is back. He wasn’t injured, but he was a little bit struggling. He is now fully back since three or four games. He is physically there, is extremely strong, keeps the ball and stuff like this, so that’s really helpful as well.

“Yes, to have them all back and mix it up [is important] – to bring on Darwin [Nunez] and Mo today is a crazy situation. It didn’t work out a little bit because of offsides, but it looked really dangerous, so now let’s see how we start the next game. It is really cool to have Diogo back, not only because of the goal but as well because of the performance. It looked really good. Lucho [Diaz] played an incredible game on the right wing; he was, in the first half, nearly not to stop. It all helped. Wataru Endo, little bit a dip and now second half, wow – what a game. Very helpful, all of that.”