Why was Cody Gakpo’s equalizer for Liverpool ruled out for offside by VAR despite the ball coming off Ezri Konsa?
Liverpool played out a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa at Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday, May 20. While it was an eventful game overall, one incident that caught everyone's attention was Cody Gakpo's disallowed goal.
Jacob Ramsey gave Villa the lead in the 27th minute after Ollie Watkins had missed a penalty earlier in the game. The Reds created multiple chances but failed to find the equalizer in the remainder of the first half. They came out of the blocks flying in the second half and Gakpo thought he had restored parity in the 55th minute.
Luis Diaz met a long ball in Aston Villa's penalty area which bounced off Ezri Konsa before it fell to Virgil van Dijk. The Dutch defender rolled it back to compatriot Gakpo to finish and all Liverpool went up in celebration.
However, VAR reviewed the goal and asked referee John Brooks to check it on the field, and the goal was eventually disallowed. This is because Konsa's touch was deemed unintentional before it fell to Van Dijk, who was offside from Luis Diaz's initial touch.
Liverpool, though, did find their equalizer in the 89th minute. Roberto Firmino, who is set to leave the club at the end of the season, scored via a Mohamed Salah cross.
After the draw, the Reds are three points behind fourth-placed Manchester United, who have a game in hand.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp on Roberto Firmino and James Milner's emotional farewells
Anfield said goodbye to four players on Saturday with Roberto Firmino, James Milner, Naby Keita, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain set to leave in the summer. After the game, all four players were well acknowledged and handed presents.
Firmino and Milner, especially, have been at the club for a long time and helped them achieve massive success. Speaking about their farewells after the game, Jurgen Klopp said (via Liverpoolfc.com):
"Definitely, definitely [feeling emotional]. I saw now his [Firmino’s] kids, I’m not sure, maybe the eldest one is older than seven probably, that means I know them all since they were babies. Same for Millie. So, the two boys who came on obviously showed today immediately what we will miss. It’s Millie’s mentality."
He added:
"I don’t want to underestimate really his football – because he played really good football here and today again – but the way he comes in a game, oh my God, whoever will do that for us in the next few years, that is a high, high bar because how many games he won for us in this way is insane. Then Bobby comes on, plays top football, is between the lines and scores a fantastic goal. Wonderful story, well deserved the story."
Firmino joined Liverpool from Hoffenheim in 2015 and has since contributed 110 goals and 79 assists in 361 games. Milner also joined the club in 2015 from Manchester City and has registered 26 goals and 46 assists in 331 games.
The duo have won one UEFA Champions League trophy and one Premier League title, among other honors, with Liverpool.