Liverpool v Ipswich outrage: ‘VAR tried their hardest to disallow Gakpo strike’
Cody Gakpo’s second goal for Liverpool stood despite VAR “trying their hardest” to disallow it in the win over Ipswich Town, according to Paul Merson.
Arne Slot’s side went into the game looking to maintain their lead at the top of the Premier League table, and wasted no time in ensuring they did that.
Dominik Szoboszlai, Mo Salah and Gakpo all struck before half-time at Anfield on Saturday to give the hosts a comfortable 3-0 lead at half-time.
While Liverpool were less dominant after the break, they were still able to add another to their tally on route to a 4-1 win.
That came when Gakpo headed his second from a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold, who stood out despite speculation around his future.
There was though a long VAR check before the goal was awarded to confirm the Dutchman was not offside, something Merson was far from impressed.
Speaking about the wait for the goal to be given on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday, the former Arsenal man said (4:29pm): “No, Simon [Thomas] I told you it’s 4-0. Don’t listen to VAR, they were trying their hardest.
“20 yards onside, it took them an hour. Honestly Mike, seriously, even with the naked eye you could see couldn’t you?”
Former Premier League referee Mike Dean then responded: “Yeah, 100%. Probably half a yard on, I wouldn’t say 20, but it shouldn’t have took that long.”
Liverpool right to be frustrated over VAR wait
Football Insider Verdict
While the right decision was reached in the end, it would still be understandable if they were to be left unhappy about how long it took to come to this decision.
Replays appeared to show that Gakpo was very much onside in little time at all, so it made little sense to take so long to award that goal for Liverpool.
Indeed, there have been plenty of occasions this season where VAR has been criticised for taking too long to come to decisions.
Incidents such as this are only likely to put further scrutiny on the length of time this decision making process is taking, especially with a semi-automated offside system yet to be introduced.
For Liverpool though, this 4-1 win was very much a case of job done for them, as they maintained their six-point lead at the top of the table with a game in hand.
With that in mind, this can very much be considered another good day at the office for Arne Slot’s side, with this VAR delay likely to be only the most minor of blots on their day.
In other news, Darwin Nunez has sent a message to Luis Suarez.
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