Maybe more than any of his Liverpool teammates, Cody Gakpo knows his soon-to-be new manager, Arne Slot.

The Dutchman, who scored in Liverpool’s 4-2 triumph over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, became the most recent Red to discuss the Feyenoord manager.

Speaking to Viaplay, he said that he was “very curious” about his countryman taking Jurgen Klopp’s place in the Anfield bench. He compared it to the “often difficult games” he had in the Eredivisie against Slot’s Feyenoord team.

When Slot was still a player for PEC Zwolle and on the roster of FC Groningen, Virgil van Dijk once encountered him, and in his final season with Ajax, Ryan Gravenberch twice faced his Feyenoord team. The new Reds manager, meantime, was AZ Alkmaar’s assistant manager when he faced off against a Willem II team that had Kostas Tsimikas on loan twice.

Despite having a breakout season with PSV Eindhoven in 2018–19, Gakpo is the player with the most experience versus Slot’s team.

With the exception of two encounters with AZ in 2018–19, when Slot was still assistant manager, the Liverpool striker faced his prospective boss four times between October 2019 and September 2022: twice they were defeated, once they drew, and in their final meeting, they prevailed.

In these appearances, the now 25-year-old recorded three goals and three assists, making an individual impression on Slot’s teams. But his prospective manager has the advantage, and Gakpo will pay a price for such performances in more ways than one.

When Gakpo’s countryman was enjoying his debut season as AZ Alkmaar’s manager, the team played Slot. The then-20-year-old started up front for PSV and played 77 minutes, but the game ended goalless when Ryan Thomas received a red card halfway through the first half, dooming the now-Liverpool attacker and his team.

In the end, Slot’s team won decisively, 4-0, at PSV’s Philips Stadion. The two teams were denied a rematch in Alkmaar as the COVID-19 epidemic forced the Eredivisie to be dropped for the 2019–20 season.

Fourth position When the season ended, PSV was seven points behind second-placed AZ despite having played one extra game. As a result, Slot’s team qualified for the Champions League qualifiers the following season.

When PSV faced AZ twice in 2020–21, Slot had already been fired by them after he had already committed to take over at Feyenoord at the beginning of the next campaign. Gakpo would therefore not see his next management until September 2021.

Once more, PSV was going to have a terrible day. Gakpo, the club captain at this time, began the game at the Philips Stadion on the left wing as Slot’s team easily defeated them 4-0 in September 2021. Due to the loss, Feyenoord moved up to second place in the rankings, surpassing PSV’s competitors.

In May 2022, they would battle to a 2-2 stalemate at De Kuip, with Slot once more thwarting Gakpo in spite of his best attempts.

Within the first 30 minutes, PSV had already taken a 2-0 lead thanks to two goals from the forward, who was once again captaining his team from the left wing. But as PSV, who were vying for the championship, attempted to hold onto their lead, Marco van Ginkel replaced Cyriel Dessers, who had cut the deficit in half in the 86th minute.

Unfortunately, Feyenoord managed to secure a share of the spoils thanks to a penalty kick by Dessers in the 96th minute. With two games left in the season, PSV was severely hurt by the deadlock because they ended second in the table and lost to Ajax by just two points for the championship.

Had they not managed to save a single point from their two encounters with Slot’s team, they would have emerged victorious. Slot’s team, meanwhile, finished the season in a distant third place, 10 points behind PSV and 12 points behind the champions.

In their final meeting, which took place in September 2022 at the Phillips Stadion, Gakpo’s impressive display on the left wing helped PSV win 4-3.

After trailing after just three minutes, Gakpo equalized with a corner kick and then gave PSV the lead. At the stroke of halftime, Feyenoord of Slot would pull them back, but shortly after the break, the Liverpool forward would cross to Guus Til to make it 3-2.

And while PSV was once again down, Gakpo provided Armando Obispo with a late winner from a different angle.

With the win, PSV surpassed Feyenoord to take the top spot in the table, moving them up to fourth place. However, they lost the top spot going into the 2022 World Cup to AZ Alkmaar 1-0 at home in November—the game that would turn out to be Gakpo’s last for the team before he moved to Anfield.

Slot’s Feyenoord defeated Excelsior 5-1 the next day, securing first position for the first time since the season’s first day. They went on to win the Eredivisie for the first time since 2017 by holding onto it for the remainder of the season, finishing seven points ahead of PSV, who had lost Gakpo by then.

During their concurrent stays in their native countries, Slot and Gakpo will have exchanged admiring looks, so it stands to reason that the Liverpool forward would be thrilled to reunite with his erstwhile opponent.

Despite having three goals and three assists in four matches with the teams of his soon-to-be manager, the 25-year-old was twice the victim of severe home losses in these encounters and was denied both Champions League qualifying and two Eredivisie titles.

Moreover, having watched Gakpo up close as a left-winger and a striker, it will be intriguing to see where Slot prefers to place the adaptable forward when they team up at Anfield the following season.