Arne Slot encouraged by Liverpool’s fringe players – “Makes it even harder for me”

Liverpool boss Arne Slot insisted Cody Gakpo is very much part of his Premier League plans after the forward’s stunning double set the Carabao Cup holders on course for the quarter-finals.

Gakpo gave a timely reminder of his talents on Wednesday evening with a pair of powerful finishes before Luis Diaz sealed the Reds’ 3-2 fourth-round victory at Brighton.

The Netherlands international has been a peripheral figure at Anfield since Slot replaced Jurgen Klopp in the summer, starting just two of nine top-flight fixtures.

Slot, who made eight changes for the Amex Stadium tie, was impressed by the impact of his squad players, including his fellow Dutchman.

“Cody’s been, in my opinion, a good player for Liverpool for a long time now,” said Slot.

“He continues to bring that and that’s a good thing. For me, he is a regular starter. He’s not started every game but he’s started on a regular basis and he’s in tough competition with Luis Diaz who, when he went to the left (wing), also scored a goal.

“That’s normal if you play at a club like Liverpool, you’ve got two quality players for many positions. But, for me, Cody has been a regular starter this season.”

Gakpo, who also claimed a brace in Liverpool’s 5-1 third-round success over West Ham, took his career tally in the competition to eight goals in as many games by thumping past Jason Steele 30 seconds into the second period and again in the 63rd minute.

Albion winger Simon Adingra halved the deficit 10 minutes from time following a mistake from Jarell Quansah before Diaz restored Liverpool’s two-goal cushion, prior to Tariq Lamptey’s deflected 90th-minute consolation.

“I really liked what I saw from players that haven’t played that much this season yet,” said Slot, whose team host Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday.

“They were able to play a similar style that we usually do and they brought quality into the game. That makes it even harder for me to make line-ups in the upcoming weeks.”

Following a forgettable first half, Brighton were the dominant force in the 17 minutes between Gakpo’s goals but were clinically punished as their quest to reach the last eight of the tournament for the first time in 46 years fell short.

Reds goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros produced a fine save to turn an Adingra header against a post at 1-0, while Lamptey and Evan Ferguson also wasted good openings for Albion.

Seagulls head coach Fabian Hurzeler, who, like Slot, made eight alterations to his starting XI, said: “It’s disappointing to be knocked out of the cup but we were not ruthless enough, and I think that was the difference.

“Liverpool scored at the right moments. They scored out of nowhere with an unbelievable shot. They had the timing on their side today and we were not able to reply at the right moments.

“We had a lot of positive things but of course also negative things, otherwise you wouldn’t lose the match. We have to analyse it, we have to give feedback and then we try to keep going.”