“Painful”- Cody Gakpo opens up on ‘heavy hit’ against Aston Villa

Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo gives his opinion on Tyrone Mings’s tackle vs Aston Villa

Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo, while speaking to Astro Super Sport via Liverpool Echo (h/t Birmingham Live) has given his opinion on the hard challenge by Tyrone Mings in the 1-1 draw against Aston Villa.

Gakpo was the recipient of a heavy challenge from the Englishman after which visible stud marks of the challenge were visible on the Dutch international.

Speaking after the game, he admitted that the challenge was rough but the team had to accept referee John Brooks’s decision and move on with the game. In many ways, it was just one of the poor decisions we were awarded on the night.

“It was a heavy hit but the ref decided to give a yellow card then we have to just carry on.

We just play and accept it.

It was painful.

I just hope it wasn’t anything serious and that I could play through. I was okay.”

Many fans and pundits believe that Mings should have been sent off for the challenge although the VAR did have a look at it and deemed it not worthy of a red card.

It is safe to say that had Mings been sent off for the challenge, it would have completely changed the outlook of the game and our late run for a top-four finish. The fact that the referee didn’t do so after seeing the stud marks on Gakpo’s

Before the draw against Villa, we were one point behind Manchester United albeit with a game played but now with United’s win over Bournemouth, it remains tough for us to achieve UEFA Champions League qualification.

It was a must-win game for us and with the heroics of a saved penalty from Alisson, the team should have done better to execute the chances.

There is still very little hope that the team could finish in the top four and it would take nothing short of a miracle for that to happen. Honestly, we are not getting our hopes up.

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Hence, it is better to be ready for Thursday night football for the upcoming season and hope we have a good transfer window that allows us to compete at a top level again.