Steven Gerrard Names and Shames Liverpool Star Who Has to Be Dropped

Gerrard was not alone in lambasting Liverpool for Tuesday’s 2–1 defeat to Wolves.

Steven Gerrard (left) did not hold back in his criticism of Liverpool. | Ben Roberts-Danehouse/Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty Images

Liverpool’s legendary former captain Steven Gerrard has implored Arne Slot to start the club’s teenage winger Rio Ngumoha over Cody Gakpo for Friday’s rematch against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup.

Gerrard was unimpressed with his boyhood club’s shock 2–1 defeat to the Premier League’s bottom club on Tuesday evening, specifically lamenting a lack of attacking spark from the defending top-flight champions.

“For 65 minutes, Liverpool were desperate tonight,” he moaned as part of TNT Sports’ coverage. “Really poor, didn’t create enough. They didn’t play at the right speed [or] the right tempo. They didn’t have enough quality. He has to start Ngumoha now. He has to start because he’s coming on and he’s doing more in a short cameo, in a short space of time, than Gakpo is doing in 65–70 minutes. So he deserves to start.

“He’s got to start the kid on Friday night.”

Gerrard’s rebuke of Gakpo was not a unique opinion, but it may be a slightly harsh one.

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Is Cody Gakpo Being Unfairly Singled Out?

Cody Gakpo was not at his best against Wolves. | Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC/Getty Images

Gakpo did not make a convincing case for his defense on Tuesday evening. With the game still goalless and defiantly lifeless, Liverpool belatedly delivered a set piece which evaded a Wolves head. Curtis Jones appeared primed to chest the ball over the line only to find it hooked away from him. Rather than any Wolves boot, Gakpo was the unwitting culprit.

The left winger has been a lightning rod for criticism this season. At a surface level, it’s understandable. Gakpo has played almost exactly the same number of minutes across all competitions, yet boasts eight goals compared to 18 last term. After losing the option of Luis Díaz to Bayern Munich in the summer, Liverpool’s only senior left winger has failed to replicate even half of his own output, let alone replace that of his departed teammate.

However, to single out Gakpo for a down year in this season of all seasons would be like lambasting the deck hand while the Titanic goes down. Gakpo’s notable dip in form is merely a consequence of Liverpool’s collective malaise rather than the cause.

The Netherlands international stands as the team’s second top scorer and has only created marginally fewer chances than Florian Wirtz, whose recent uptick in form has been rightly hailed.

Mohamed Salah, as a counterpoint, has endured an even sharper decline and, in spite of his goal at Molineux, is arguably performing even worse than Gakpo. In a competitive setup, one or perhaps even both wide men would be taken out of the firing line for some respite. Whether a 17-year-old with less than 500 senior minutes of soccer to his name is the solution is another matter entirely.

2025–26 Premier League Statistic	Cody Gakpo Value (per 90)	Liverpool per 90 Rank
Games	27	T-4
Goals	6 (0.27)	2nd
Expected Goals	6.2 (0.28)	3rd
Shots	64 (2.9)	2nd
Shot on Target %	22%	10th
Open Play Assists	2 (0.10)	5th
Open Play Expected Assists	3.7 (0.17)	2nd
Open Play Chances Created	35 (1.6)	2nd
Carries Ending in a Goal/Assist	2 (0.1)	6th
Carries Ending in a Shot/Chance Created	55 (2.1)	1st

Stats via Opta.

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Rio Ngumoha’s Bright Bursts

Ngumoha has made an impact this season. | George Wood/Getty Images

Statistic (All Comps)	Rio Ngumoha
Games	17
Starts	3
Minutes	424
Goals	1
xG	0.88
Shots	7
Assists	0
Chances Created	14

Stats via Opta.

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Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first call promising. Ngumoha is a prospect of immense potential but, it should not be forgotten, remains a legal child rather than the salve to all Liverpool’s myriad of wounds.

Nevertheless, that hasn’t stopped the hype. Jamie Carragher prefaced Gerrard’s calls for Ngumoha’s arrival after the fleet-footed winger came off the bench to create the best chance of Liverpool’s scratchy win over Nottingham Forest last month. “Rio Ngumoha came on in the 77th minute [and] he did more in 15 minutes than Gakpo and Salah did in the whole game,” Carragher scoffed.

“He changed the game this kid. He needs to be starting games now. He’s that good.”

Slot has managed to resist the temptation to overload the spindly youngster, handing him just three starts this season exclusively in the domestic cup competitions. Even without Gerrard’s advice, there’s every chance that Ngumoha would have earned a starting berth for Friday’s FA Cup fifth round tie back at Molineux anyway.

Yet, to expect the reincarnation of John Barnes in a No. 73 shirt this weekend would be grossly unfair.

Ngumoha has impressively averaged a shot or created a chance every 30 minutes he’s been on the pitch this season. Gakpo, who is playing far more minutes against fresh legs when Liverpool aren’t slinging everyone up the pitch, is still averaging one chance taken or created every 18 minutes—almost twice as often as Liverpool’s supposed savior.

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