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MILAN, ITALY - Tuesday, September 17, 2024: Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai celebrates after scoring the third goal during the UEFA Champions League game between AC Milan and Liverpool FC at the Stadio San Siro. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

“Strong and powerful” Cody Gakpo takes the headlines as Liverpool beat AC Milan

Cody Gakpo was superb in Liverpool’s 3-1 win away to AC Milan, with Ibrahima Konate also shining at both ends of the pitch.

The Reds may have started terribly on Tuesday night, falling behind to an early Christian Pulisic goal, but they never panicked at the San Siro.

Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk both nodded home to turn the game on its head before Dominik Szoboszlai completed the scoring on the opening Champions League night of the season.

Here we compare our player ratings with those of the Liverpool Echo, GOAL, FotMob and This Is Anfield’s readers.

Gakpo (8.3) was given an opportunity to shine, coming in for Luis Diaz, and he was Liverpool’s best player.

The Dutchman wreaked havoc with his direct running and pace, and he did his chances under Arne Slot no harm moving forward.

The Echo‘s Paul Gorst said that Gakpo “looked threatening whenever he had the ball,” adding that he was “too strong and powerful for Milan” to handle.

TIA’s Joanna Durkan described it as a “performance we want to see more of” from the forward, who has so much to offer in this kind of form.

Konate (8.1) was also an eye-catching performer for Liverpool, not only equalising but also keeping Milan’s defence quiet.

MILAN, ITALY - Tuesday, September 17, 2024: Liverpool's Ibrahima Konaté celebrates after scoring his side's first equalising goal during the UEFA Champions League game between AC Milan and Liverpool FC at the Stadio San Siro. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Peter McVitie of GOAL felt that the Frenchman “stood up well to win the ball when Milan came through the middle,” on an evening when he even outperformed Van Dijk (7.8).

Ryan Gravenberch (7.9) continues to enjoy a formidable start to the season and he shone on and off the ball once again.

Durkan handed the midfielder TIA’s Man of the Match award, saying he “showed he can win the physical battle and track his runners,” which hasn’t always been the case.

It wasn’t a great night for Diogo Jota (5.9), though, who missed a sitter and will hope for better evenings ahead!

Next up for Liverpool is Saturday’s visit of Bournemouth in the Premier League (3pm BST).