Jamie Carragher mocks Manchester United after 4-3 loss with phrase aimed at Chelsea by Gary Neville
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has taken a jibe at Manchester United following their defeat to Chelsea by using fellow Sky Sports pundit and United legend Gary Neville's quote.
The Red Devils fell 4-3 to the Blues at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, March 4, in spectacular fashion. Having come back from a 2-0 deficit, Erik ten Hag's side held a 3-2 lead as the game entered the final minutes of stoppage time. However, Cole Palmer struck twice in a minute to steal a win for the hosts.
Shortly after the match, Carragher reacted to Manchester United's dramatic collapse on X (formerly Twitter), writing:
"The billion pound bottle jobs 😂"
Neville notably used a variation of the same quote ("blue billion pound bottlejobs") while on commentary duty for Sky Sports in February. The footballer-turned-pundit was describing Chelsea after their 1-0 Carabao Cup final loss to Liverpool despite the Reds fielding multiple youngsters in extra-time.
"We didn't make the right decisions" - Erik ten Hag left 'frustrated' as Manchester United lose to Chelsea
Chelsea notably raced to a 2-0 lead in the first half on Wednesday after Conor Gallagher's fourth-minute strike and a Cole Palmer penalty 15 minutes later. However, Alejandro Garnacho halved the deficit in the 34th minute, while Bruno Fernandes headed home shortly after to make it 2-2.
Garnacho then handed Manchester United the lead midway through the second half with a header of his own. United held that lead as the game entered its 100th minute, but were stung twice by Palmer, first from the penalty spot following a foul by Diogo Dalot, and then from a strike that went in off Scott McTominay.
After the match, Erik ten Hag expressed his frustration with the outcome of the contest, criticizing his side's errors and lack of control late in the game. He said (as quoted by Manchester Evening News):
"In stoppage time we didn't manage it, we didn't bring the win over the line and of course, that's frustrating... We didn't make the right decisions, we didn't react quick enough to avoid this situation."
Ten Hag added:
"We have to read when to keep the ball, especially when you are winning. Keep the ball, pass and move and switch the play instead of giving the ball away or going only into long balls. Bring the ball into the opponent's half, keep passing, discourage the opponent.
"But then if you have to defend you have to do it proper and we made the wrong decisions. And on individual errors and that's very frustrating if you're playing a good game."
The defeat left Manchester United nine points adrift of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and a further two behind Aston Villa in fourth in the Premier League table. Chelsea, meanwhile, climbed into the top half and are now just two points behind seventh-placed West Ham United, who have played two games more.