“They’re a long way short" - Jamie Carragher's comments comparing Real Madrid to 3 European giants resurface after they reach UCL final
Jamie Carragher has egg on his face after his old comments suggesting Real Madrid weren't up to par with Europe's big guns resurfaced. The La Liga giants booked their place in the UEFA Champions League final last night.
Carlo Ancelotti's men will face Borussia Dortmund in the final after beating Bayern Munich 2-1 (4-3 aggregate) in the semifinals on Wednesday (May 8). It was a dramatic night for Los Blancos as Joselu came off the bench to score two late goals to send his side to Wembley.
Real Madrid knocked Manchester City and Bayern, who beat Arsenal, out on their way to the final. They also beat RB Leipzig 2-1 on aggregate in the last 16 and their Champions League winning credentials were questioned after that slight victory.
Carragher boldly claimed that Ancelotti's troops weren't as strong as the likes of City, Arsenal and Inter Milan. He said in early March (via Madrid Xtra):
"I do feel they’re a long way short of certainly Manchester City, and maybe Inter Milan and Arsenal. I don’t think they’re up there when it comes to the best teams in Europe right now."
Madrid fans flooded the replies section of that X (formerly Twitter) post to point out that Carragher's opinion is their jinx amusingly. Los Merengues are the record holders, winning the Champions League on 14 occasions. They could make that 15 at Wembley against Dortmund who eliminated Paris Saint-Germain to punch their ticket to the final.
Carragher also predicted Real Madrid to get knocked out by Manchester City
Carragher made predictions for the Champions League quarterfinals and the Liverpool legend got plenty of them wrong. One glaring slip-up was backing Real Madrid to crash out of the competition at the hands of City.
Pep Guardiola's Cityzens were viewed as slight favorites heading into their tie with Real Madrid to be fair. They were in red-hot form and knocked Ancelotti's side out of Europe's elite club competition in the semifinals last season.
Los Blancos beat the reigning European Champions 4-3 on penalties after an enthralling 4-4 draw on aggregate. Carragher tipped the Cityzens to retain their European crown by beating PSG in the final.
The one-time Champions League winner also got Dortmund's path wrong as he backed them to exit in the quarterfinals. He saw Atletico Madrid sending them packing before PSG beat them to face City who would have defeated Bayern to reach the final.