Cody Gakpo feeling 'amazing' after first goal helps Liverpool beat rivals Everton

Cody Gakpo said it was "amazing" to score his first goal for Liverpool after the Dutch forward helped his new side claim their first Premier League win of the year against rivals Everton on Monday night.

Mohamed Salah opened the scoring at Anfield in the 36th minute before Gakpo doubled the hosts' lead shortly after the interval as the Reds put an end to a miserable start to 2023 which started with three defeats and a draw. Liverpool return to ninth in the standings, nine points behind fourth-placed Newcastle in the last of the Champions League places.

"It feels amazing to get my first goal in this game – also an important one. I'm really happy," said Gakpo, who joined Liverpool from PSV Eindhoven in January in a deal worth a reported £45 million ($54.7m).

"It was amazing. Obviously for a striker it's always nice to score and then also in a derby is a really great feeling."

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was delighted for Gakpo to get off the mark, saying: "A good performance as well. He did extremely well under massive pressure in the centre. In the end, it was not the most difficult goal he ever scored, but it is exactly the goal each striker is dreaming of when it didn’t happen for a while, probably."

The Merseyside derby victory came after a miserable start to the year for Liverpool, who suffered chastening away defeats to Brentford, Brighton, and Wolves. The Reds faced a potentially tricky encounter against Everton, who while stuck in the relegation zone, did arrive at Anfield following a hugely-impressive win over Arsenal in Sean Dyche's first match in charge.

"The result is massive relief," Klopp said. "The better you play the more likely you will score. The whole performance was extremely important for us