Everton vs Liverpool: Gary Neville says Ross Barkley 'shocking' tackle could have broken Jordan Henderson's leg

Barkley could've seriously hurt Henderson with a late, high challenge tha sparked a melee between the Merseyside rivals

Jack de Menezes
Tuesday 20 December 2016 09:15 GMT
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Ross Barkley's tackle on Jordan Henderson was 'shocking', according to Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville
Ross Barkley's tackle on Jordan Henderson was 'shocking', according to Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has hit out at Everton midfielder Ross Barkley for the “shocking” tackle on his England teammate Jordan Henderson, which fellow Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville admitted “could have broken his leg”.

Henderson was lucky to escape serious injury during Liverpool’s 1-0 victory over Merseyside rivals Everton, which was decided by a late Sadio Mane winner when Daniel Sturridge’s effort cannoned into his path off the post. Barkley slid in late on Henderson, catching the Liverpool captain’s standing leg studs-first, and the incident sparked a melee between the two sides as players clashed.

Seamus Coleman was booked by referee Mike Dean, who decided not to show Dejan Lovren a second yellow card despite a clear push in the clash, and he also elected to book Barkley for the challenge instead of sending him off.

Both Carragher and Neville were in agreement that the challenge merited a sending-off, and the fact that the pair both play for England also drew criticism from the Sky Sports pundits who believed that Barkley intentionally tried to hurt Henderson.

“It's a red card, a shocking tackle. It doesn't look great,” Carragher said on Sky Sports after the match.

Neville added: “It's a shocker of a challenge and could have broken his leg.

“I think to be fair, he said Ross apologised to him after the game and rightly so, because - forget the fact they're team-mates - the fact they're going in for tackles with each other is absolutely expected.

“You shouldn't pull out of any tackles just because they're playing with England together. But that's a really naughty challenge.”

Barkley’s manager, Ronald Koeman, admitted after the match that the midfielder was lucky not to be sent-off for the tackle, though he also questioned why referee Dean had not shown a second booking to Lovren.

However, despite being the victim of Barkley’s challenge, Henderson was quick to play down the severity of the incident and revealed that Barkley did apologise for the tackle after the match.

Carragher and Neville both felt Barkley should have been sent-off

“It was pretty late, but I know Ross well, he's a good lad and I'm good friends with him,” Henderson told Sky Sports.

“I think he just mis-timed the tackle but obviously after the game he apologised. It was a little bit late but thankfully I'm alright.

Henderson and Barkley had words during the match in a heated exchange

“You're going to get them in derby games. It's a derby it doesn't matter if you're friends off the field or at international (level), when you're on the pitch you give 100 per cent to win.”

Barkley apologised to Henderson after the match as the two embraced on the Goodison Park pitch

Carragher praised Henderson for the way he handled the incident, and said that the Liverpool skipper is an example of how all footballers should react to such incidents.

“Henderson's interview was outstanding,” said Carragher. “How a proper pro should react.”

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