Jamie Carragher isn’t shy of expressing his views, whether he is backing Liverpool or sharing his thoughts on rival teams.
The Liverpool legend regularly works on CBS for their Champions League coverage and he is still repping the badge in Europe’s elite competition.
On Wednesday night, to his probable enjoyment, he watched Manchester City and Arsenal suffer European heartache.
Bayern Munich ended Arsenal’s timid stay in the competition and they will now turn their attention to Premier League matters after slipping up in the title race.
Whilst the current holders suffered penalty pain and were, once again, booted out of the Champions League by Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid.
For large parts of the game, Manchester City were the better side, but the Spanish giants defended for their lives and ensured the game went to penalties.
In that regard – their defence and mental strength – they deserved to go through.
Only a few years back, when Liverpool were beaten by Real Madrid in the UCL final in Paris, Carragher’s comments angered the Madridistas because he claimed that they were ‘lucky’ to win that competition, even though they secured the crown by beating three English teams.
Well, Carragher might have done that again with his latest comments. as expressed by some fans on Madrid Zone on Twitter because, whilst he acknowledged their mental brilliance, he suggested that their tie against Man City was an ‘absolute mis-match’ and they are ‘one of the luckiest teams to get through’, as he told CBS Sports on Paramount+ (17/04/24 at 10:55 pm).
Real Madrid knock Manchester City out of the Champions League
“I have said this before, the team that wins the Champions League, they aren’t necessarily the best team in Europe,” said Carragher.
“I have seen Real Madrid on a few occasions. We will see what they do this season, I think in the past, they won it and beat Liverpool in a final a couple of years ago, they find a way to win. I think they have played Manchester City three times in four years and beaten them twice. But Man City have been the better team.
“Real Madrid, there is something special about that club that have a hold on the opposition, a mentality and a belief that they are the best team in Europe and they beat Manchester City here on a penalty shootout when their last shot on target was in the 12th minute of the game, the goal. A couple of years before, they beat them by two goals in the last minute. That was to take it to extra-time. There is something about this competition and Real Madrid that puts them on a completely different level to what anybody else does.
“Anyone watching that game, and didn’t know the names of the teams, you would say it was an absolute mis-match and this team here is one of the luckiest teams to get through. But we know it’s Real Madrid and that’s what they do.”
Will Real Madrid and Liverpool reunite next season?
The Reds will return to the Champions League next season and there will be a major change to the group stages and it’s format.
Just like Madrid, those on the red half of Merseyside belong in this competition, that’s why there are six of those trophies at Anfield.
Plus, it’s just fitting that Real Madrid and Liverpool will meet again for a heavyweight Champions League showdown.
It’s just a shame that Klopp won’t be in the dugout to orchestrate the team because he deserved that one final send-off.