Cody Gakpo is leaning on past experiences to be Liverpool's goalscoring hero in their Carabao Cup final against Newcastle at Wembley on Sunday.
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Gakpo netted as PSV claimed Dutch cup final in 2022Scoring in final is 'the best feeling ever' claims GakpoDutchman is Carabao Cup's leading scorer this seasonFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Gakpo scored a second-half winner for PSV in their 2022 KNVB Beker final success over rivals Ajax and the 25-year-old admitted he is hoping to repeat his previous heroics and net Liverpool a second successive Carabao Cup trophy, having scored in the semi-final against Tottenham.
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Liverpool won last season's Carabao Cup by overcoming Chelsea with a youthful side thanks to captain Virgil van Dijk's winner. Gakpo also admitted that "everybody wants to relive" that moment with another victory, knowing full well that lifting silverware on Sunday would be "the beginning of the end to a very beautiful season".
WHAT GAKPO SAID
"I did it once at PSV, so hopefully I can do it again at Liverpool," Gakpo told Liverpool's website when asked about envisioning scoring in a final. "You can ask the players who are here longer and who played more finals and decided the finals how it feels. It's an amazing feeling and maybe the best feeling you can have as an attacking player, to score at that moment in a final.
"Playing a final, winning a trophy is always something special. Last season we won it there in a very beautiful way, in the last minute Virgil [van Dijk] scored a great header and won us that game. That was a beautiful moment and I think everybody wants to relive that again.
"I think when we won it and we celebrated in front of the fans and they sang their songs, that was a very beautiful moment for us. I think those moments will always stick with you for the rest of your career.
"It could be our first trophy of the season, so I think we are very eager to win. Hopefully that would be the beginning of the end to a very beautiful season."
AFPWHAT NEXT FOR GAKPO AND LIVERPOOL?
Liverpool are hoping to bounce back from their Champions League exit against Paris Saint-Germain this week with a win over Newcastle at Wembley knowing victory could provide the perfect catalyst for the rest of their season. The Reds sit 15 points clear at the top of the Premier League with nine games remaining aiming to seal a domestic double in Arne Slot's first season, starting with the Carabao Cup on Sunday.