Carragher’s 14-word Barcola post causes Liverpool merriment as pundit tells cult hero ‘he should have left’

Liverpool fans got their first glimpses of Bradley Barcola on Friday night as the side finally recorded their first win of the season – 2-0 at Ipswich – and Jamie Carragher’s hilarious observation quickly went viral, while Andoni Iraola and Virgil van Dijk were also quick to share their enthusiasm over another Reds star.

The French attacker was named on the bench for the clash at Portman Road but did see 26 minutes of action after coming on for Victor Munoz in the 64th minute.

By that stage, the game was already won for Liverpool, who had raced into a commanding early lead thanks to two well-taken Alexander Isak strikes, which now take his tally to three for the season and offer some serious hope that the Swede is finally ready to hit the straps for the Reds.

Yet it was the performance of another man in behind him that really caught the eye, with Cody Gakpo – who Liverpool blocked from leaving for Manchester City in a £80m deal in the final days of the window – taking the plaudits with two assists.

The Dutchman, who has held clear-the-air talks with FSG officials to explain why they decided to keep him, was outstanding, teeing up Isak twice, but also playing with real energy and drive that gave the hosts’ defence all sorts of headaches.

After stepping off the bench, Barcola only managed 12 touches of the ball, and while he did play one key pass and showed glimpses of his electric pace, there was no headline actions for the Frenchman to truly steal the limelight.

Indeed, speaking after witnessing his display, Carragher joked that Barcola may struggle to see much action with Gakpo in this sort of mood.

In a post on his X account, which very quickly went viral and drew hundreds of comments, Carragher stated: “Barcola is going to struggle to get a game with this version of Gakpo.” The post was accompanied by a laughing sweat emoji and a fire emoji.

Ironically, just days earlier, Carragher had also posted: “The money talked about for Gakpo (is) £80/85M (so) we should sell. With Barcola arriving, he will be a squad player. We need to use that money for a right winger and give the squad a better balance.”

Carragher tells cult hero he should have left

Gakpo is not the only player who he felt Liverpool should have let go this summer, revealing that Wataru Endo should also have moved on after falling down the pecking order.

The Japanese star made just 12 appearances in an injury-hit campaign last time around, yet did not manage to secure a summer move.

The midfielder has been on the bench in Liverpool’s first three games of the season, though he is yet to see any action thus far and has recently suffered another blow after being left out of the Reds’ 25-man Champions League squad.

With Federico Chiesa also failing to make the cut, Carragher has admitted his surprise that both are still at Anfield.

Speaking on The Overlap, Carragher said: “Liverpool have got two players in the squad who are never going to play.

“And there are all these quotas; you can only have 17 (non-homegrown) players and all that.

“They have got Chiesa and Endo. It’s like they are never going to kick a ball.”

Carragher added on the Japanese star: “Endo should have been moved on. He has done great, a bit of a cult hero.”

Iraola, Van Dijk revel in Gakpo display as Barcola debuts

No doubt, the star of the show at Portman Road, though, was Gakpo, and captain Virgil van Dijk was thrilled that his Netherlands teammate is still at Anfield.

In a post-match interview with Sky Sports, captain Van Dijk said: “I think we were a little bit more direct in the beginning, which is what we wanted to put the danger in their half and create a bit of chaos.

“Great goals. Cody was outstanding. Great win, and onto the next.”

When asked about the decision to keep Gakpo, Van Dijk replied: “Massive. I said it before the transfer window had closed: he’s important for us, and he will be important this season.

“He showed it today again; he showed it last week as well, and over the last couple of years. [He needs to] just keep going.”

He added: “I think Cody knows how much we value him.

“I think there is no doubt. I rate him very highly.

“I will demand [a lot] of him, obviously. He also has strong competition for minutes because we have good players in those positions, and it’s a matter of pushing each other.

“Now, with Bradley, with Rio, with Victor, it’s a matter of sometimes they will start, sometimes they will come from the bench, sometimes they will not play.

“But this competition, I think, is going to be good for our team.”