Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp expressed his displeasure with the match officials and VAR after his team’s slim Champions League hopes were dashed against Aston Villa
Roberto Firmino scored a late equalizer to cancel out Jacob Ramsey’s goal, but Klopp’s side must hope that other results go their way in the final week of the season to sneak into the top four.
After being punished for previous comments about referee Paul Tierney, Klopp watched the game from the stands, but the Liverpool manager expressed confusion after the game about Cody Gakpo’s disallowed goal and a tackle on the Dutch forward by Tyrone Mings.
Referee John Brooks checked the monitor before dismissing Gakpo’s effort, but did not go to the touchline to determine whether Mings’ yellow card deserved to be red. The VAR is said to have thought the foul was reckless but not dangerous enough to warrant a red card.
“I’m not sure if you’ve seen Cody, but he’s got three massive marks on his chest,” Klopp explained. “I saw Cody when he showed me the marks; you can’t do that without fouling.”
“I asked the referee why the offside goal was called offside. Offside situations should be fairly obvious. He explained that it is a personal choice. He believes it was an unintentional action on the part of the defender; I believe it was intentional. I believe the VAR was unsure. In the end, it’s a personal choice. He did it, and that’s all there is to it.”
The Premier League had previously confirmed how the decision was made.
Cody Gakpo had the ball in the net earlier for Liverpool, but the goal was overturned due to Virgil Van Dijk being in an offside position during the build up
Still Liverpool 0-1 Aston Villa (55 mins)#LIVAVL
— Premier League (@premierleague) May 20, 2023
“I asked the referee why the offside goal was called offside. Offside situations should be fairly obvious. He explained that it is a personal choice. He believes it was an unintentional action on the part of the defender; I believe it was intentional. I believe the VAR was unsure. In the end, it’s a personal choice. He did it, and that’s all there is to it.”
The Premier League had previously confirmed how the decision was made.
At Anfield, ten minutes were added to the game, but Klopp lamented Villa’s time-wasting tactics, believing that even more should have been awarded.
“The problem is obvious,” he explained. “Last week, I attempted to watch a lot of football. Sevilla defeated Juventus 2-1, and then the ball boys vanished. Wow. Also, Leverkusen vs. Roma. We say it’s smart, permissible, and acceptable. I think we’ve seen it too many times this season.
“It’s not always about wasting time; it’s also about breaking rhythm.” When your opponent is really going for it, and then a player goes down, leaving you scratching your head, wondering what happened? Today, 10 minutes (added time) was fine, but you had the feeling that it was probably worth another five minutes within those 10 minutes. That’s part of the issue.”
Klopp did admit, however, that his team was frequently “not good enough” to qualify for the Champions League this season.
To force a turnaround, they would need to win their final game at Southampton and hope that neither Newcastle nor Manchester United pick up another point in their remaining two games.
“I think the whole season is one where we qualify for the Europa League rather than the Champions League,” he said.
“We were too long not good enough for ourselves.”
Firmino, who is leaving the club after eight years of service, came off the bench in the 89th minute to provide one memorable moment for the hosts.
Firmino was not the only one bidding farewell to Anfield; James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Naby Keita, who were not in the matchday squad, are also leaving when their contracts expire next month, adding to an emotional but frustrating afternoon.
“This was not an easy day for us — no excuse for anything, it was just not easy because we all love these four boys,” Klopp added.
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