Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has admitted that this season’s Champions League final between Manchester City and Chelsea is “an absolute nightmare” for himself and fellow Kopites.
European football’s showcase game is returning to the Ataturk Olympic Stadium on Saturday May 29, scene of the Reds’ ‘Miracle of Istanbul’ when Rafa Benitez’s side came from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 and defeat AC Milan on penalties in the 2005 final.
Although Liverpool have added a sixth European Cup since then, defeating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in another all-English affair in 2019, this year will see either a second triumph for Chelsea, the only London club to date to lift the trophy, or a first ever success for Manchester City.
Reds fans faced a similar dilemma when Chelsea faced Manchester United in the 2008 final in Moscow and the Metro quotes Carragher as telling CBS Sports: “It’s an absolute nightmare, really!”
However, putting personal allegiances aside, the former England international admitted the pairing – plus a potential Manchester United v Arsenal clash in the Europa League final in Gdansk – actually bodes well for the Premier League as a whole.
Carragher added: “Listen, I’m delighted in a way because it shows where English football is right now.
“After Thursday [the Europa League semi-finals] we could have four English teams in the European finals.
“We go back to a big story in the last couple of weeks with the European Super League, I think it tells you why [Florentino] Perez and [Joan] Laporta at the two Spanish giants [Real Madrid and Barcelona] are desperate for a Super League because at this moment in time they can’t cope with the Premier League.
“It’s not just the quality of football, it’s the finances of the teams and the great managers.
“You look at Thomas Tuchel, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp… at the moment the Premier League is the place to be and it’s a sorry tale for the rest of Europe because they seem a fair bit away.
“Chelsea didn’t just beat Real Madrid, they battered them over two games, it should have been four of five really.”
