‘Can we sign up this analyst with the Liverpool accent, he’s better than the one I work with!’: Gary Neville makes dig at Jamie Carragher after pundit partner criticised Trent Alexander-Arnold by giving demonstration on how to defend alongside Alex Scott
- Jamie Carragher and Alex Scott took to studio floor for CBS in demonstration
- They were discussing position of Trent Alexander-Arnold for Real Madrid goal
- Gary Neville joked that his Sky Sports pundit partner should be signed up
Gary Neville made a cheeky swipe at his Sky Sports punditry sparring partner Jamie Carragher, after he took to the TV studio floor for a practical demonstration.
The former Liverpool centre-back roped in Alex Scott on CBS Sports, having her play the part of Vinicius Jr while he was Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The pair were on duty for Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat by Real in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday night and put the second goal under the spotlight.
Jamie Carragher (right) and Alex Scott (left) gave a defending demonstration mid-coverage
Carragher was offering a critique of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s positioning for the goal
Vinicius was pressuring Alexander-Arnold, who has to stretch for a header slightly out of position and ended up putting the ball on a plate for Marco Asensio to score.
Carragher was unhappy with Alexander-Arnold’s body positioning and thought he could have been better placed to cut out the ball.
He explained how the right-back should have been in a ready position with knees bent and slightly further wide.
Scott then attempted to go past him while he was in the correct body position, both kitted out in their full punditry gear.
Carragher said that Alexander-Arnold’s body positioning could have been better to start with
Champions League on CBS Sports tweeted: ‘Our two UCL-winning defenders Alex Scott and Jamie Carragher giving a lesson in defending, even in professional gear.’
Neville saw the clip online and saw an opportunity to rib his Sky Sports colleague after they’d disagreed over starting Alexander-Arnold for England in the Euros.
On Monday night, Carragher had said: ‘I want Trent in that position where I think only Kevin De Bruyne is better in world football than him.
‘Whether that’s at wing back, right back, right of midfield 3. Get him in that role on the ball.
‘You (Neville) talk about players who would like to go against Trent like (Ivan) Perisic, (Eden) Hazard or (Kylian) Mbappe. But ask Harry Kane who he’d want on the ball in that area of the field putting crosses in. He’d want Trent there before any other England player.
‘So I think there could be a case that Trent could come from the bench if they need a goal as a midfield player. I’d rather have him on the ball than maybe Ward-Prowse in that position.
‘You’re (Neville) talking about him maybe struggling in one-off games, this is a player who has got to two Champions League finals.
Carragher had defended the right-back on Monday night but criticised him on Tuesday
‘This is a player that’s played against every top player and won the Champions League. This idea he couldn’t play in one-off games is nonsense.’
Neville added: ‘So I’m saying to myself in a a one-off game, in a tournament, in a quarter or semi final, I ask who England are going to be playing? They’re going to be playing Germany, Belgium, France, Portugal.
‘Who he’s going to be playing against? (Eden) Hazard, (Kylian) Mbappe, (Leroy) Sane, (Diogo) Jota and (Cristiano) Ronaldo.
‘Who do they want to play against? (Reece) James, (Kyle) Walker or Trent? They’ll say, I’ll let Trent go forward, he’ll leave space behind.’
Carragher’s U-turn in criticising Alexander-Arnold led Neville to write: ‘Hi Sky Sports, can we sign this analyst up with the Liverpool accent . He’s better than the one I work with.’