Cody Gakpo scored the first goal of what was a crazy first half in Eindhoven and for him an evening he will never forget against his former club.
It was Federico Chiesa whose tireless running created a chance for a mistake to be made in the Dutch defence, before he then pressed a heavy touch and won a penalty.
Our No.18 stepped up against his boyhood team and calmly slotted the ball home before refusing to celebrate in front of the supporters who love him so much.
As their former captain ran off towards the half-way line though, he managed to make a quick remark to Armando Obispo and it was captured on camera.
We don’t know what the 25-year-old said but the smile that quickly covered the defender’s face meant it was certainly somewhat unexpected for him.
Cody Gakpo made the most of his return to the Philips Stadion
We could see from the reception that the Dutch international got on his return to the city that he is still held in very high regard.
Given the weak squad that was selected to travel to Holland, it does seem that it was a sentimental decision for the forward to be part of the squad.
After he stated that he was hoping for minutes, for the attacker to be allowed the chance to start and score will surely lead to increased respect for Arne Slot from the player.
Other than going in at half time on the end of a crazy 3-2 deficit, it proved to be the right decision from our head coach.
You can watch the video of Gakpo and Obispo courtesy of UEFA (via @n1918229 on X):
pic.twitter.com/ksatHaCIon
— hae (@n1918229) January 29, 2025
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