Mark Clattenburg has chipped in with his thoughts on Cody Gakpo’s penalty shout during Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat against Brentford on Saturday.
The Reds were once again thwarted by their Premier League opposition on Saturday, which caused them to fall even further down the table.
Arne Slot’s men are now seventh in the league, with Arsenal currently seven points ahead of them.
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Liverpool’s title chances are slowly fading away, and even though they deserved to lose on Saturday, the defeat didn’t come without controversy.
As mentioned, Gakpo was brought down by Collins with Liverpool’s team and bench all thinking they were owed a penalty.
However, that didn’t happen, and the game carried on, which resulted in Liverpool getting beaten 3-2.
Arne Slot manager / head coach of Liverpool reacts during the Premier League match between Brentford and Liverpool at Gtech Community Stadium
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Now that the game is over, former Premier League referee Clattenburg has given his thoughts on the penalty call.
Mark Clattenburg thinks that the referee made the correct decision on Cody Gakpo’s penalty call
Gakpo has been rather unlucky for Liverpool this season.
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The Dutchman hit the post three times when facing Manchester United, and then against Brentford on Saturday, his final third form was poor.
He was taken off in the 61st minute for Federico Chiesa; however, he could’ve had a much bigger impact on the game if his shout for a penalty had been given.
And, even though Liverpool’s fans all thought it was a blatant penalty, Clattenburg thinks Simon Hooper made the exact right call.
“I’ve analysed this many times, Nathan Collins goes to make a challenge for the ball and his leg is already planted,” he said on the Beyond the Back Four Podcast.
“I believe what Cody Gakpo does [is that] he anticipates the contact, and while he anticipates the contact, Nathan Collins’ leg doesn’t make a second movement towards Cody Gakpo’s leg.
“And, because he anticipates the contact, he jumps up, and as he jumps up, his arms go above his head, and that’s normally one of the signs that referees are looking at.
“If a player naturally falls, he would automatically put his arms out to break the fall because he’s not expecting to fall.
“Very rare you’ll see a situation where a player deliberately puts his hands in the air to break his fall, so therefore, this is one of the signs that referees look at if a player is anticipating contact and trying to win a penalty.
“Sometimes referees don’t get the praise they should. I think this is a very, very good decision.”
Cody Gakpo must improve his form otherwise he could get dropped from Liverpool’s starting XI
Although Gakpo is Liverpool’s only senior left-winger, that doesn’t mean he can’t be dropped.
As mentioned, Chiesa was brought on for the Dutchman against Brentford, and even though Slot may like his wingers to be inverted, it’s clear that last season’s system isn’t working anymore.
There have been countless times this term when Gakpo should have buried the chances he’s been given, but, in the end, nothing has come of them.
If the former PSV man continues to perform at this level, then he could be dropped from Slot’s starting XI.
Cody Gakpo on the ball vs Manchester United
Photo by PETER POWELL/AFP via Getty Images
This would be far from ideal for anyone, as most people thought that now that Luis Diaz has joined Bayern Munich, Gakpo would thrive and take some pressure from Mohamed Salah’s shoulders.
However, neither have been firing this season and unless something changes soon, the 2025-26 season could end up being a complete write-off for Liverpool.