Carragher SLAMS Liverpool flop after FA Cup defeat - 'Plays in slow motion'

Cody Gakpo could hardly have picked a worse time to drop such a poor performance.

In front of FSG’s newly-appointed CEO of Football, Michael Edwards, the 24-year-old barely contributed as Liverpool crashed out of the FA Cup in a thrilling quarter final against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Gakpo was sprung from the bench with around 13 minutes remaining in normal time by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp with his side 2-1 up and looking good to take the victory.

Mohamed Salah is on the comeback trail from injury and needs his minutes managed carefully and it was the 31-year-old who had to make way for Gakpo.

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The former PSV star couldn’t replicate Salah’s impact however and he was singled out for criticism on social media after the game.

Former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher accused Gakpo of playing the game like he’s in slow motion, with one incident in particular sticking in the minds of fans.

Gakpo plays like the game is in slow motion.

— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) March 17, 2024

Mere moments after coming on, Gakpo was in charge of leading a Liverpool counterattack. The Reds had a five versus two advantage but the £37 million signing’s poor decision-making cost Liverpool a chance at goal.

United needed no second invitation to strike with Antony levelling up late on, punishing Klopp’s side for failing to drive home their advantage when it counted.

Extra time saw the teams again exchange goals, through Harvey Elliott and Marcus Rashford, before Amad Diallo scored the winner with practically the last kick of the 120 minutes.

Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo problem

He played around 43 minutes in total on Sunday, managing to complete only 11 of his 14 passes, and didn’t have a single shot on target.

Gakpo started his Liverpool career making a strong impact, having earlier seen a move to Man Utd fall through, but appears to have stood still this term. That’s despite being continually summoned from the bench by Klopp. He has not been short of opportunities, playing over 40 times in this campaign, but his long-term future under a new manager must now be questioned.

He has managed 13 goals and five assists this term but there are major question marks over his contributions in the most important games.

Mike Edwards!

[@LewisSteele_] pic.twitter.com/m6QcamjcZa

— Anfield Sector (@AnfieldSector) March 17, 2024

Salah, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota are now ahead of Gakpo in the Anfield pecking order while fans are also crying out for Jayden Danns, who scored two goals in the last round, to be given more chances in place of Gakpo.

It’s been a sad fall from grace for the Dutchman, who looked like he could cover a few different positions effectively for Klopp last season but who now seems to be bearing the blame for Liverpool’s underperformance at Old Trafford.

The jury remains out on Gakpo and the soon-to-be Edwards-installed sporting director, Richard Hughes, might soon try to see if any team is willing to take him off their hands. With a contract until 2028, it remains to be seen whether the Netherlands international will see out that term.