Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have named their Premier League teams of the season so far, with the Sky Sports duo agreeing on eight selections.
But there were some contentious calls and plenty of bickering between the pair, as Carragher was slammed by Neville and Jones for leaving out Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland and their midfielder Rodri.
The Liverpool legend meanwhile, hit back at the former Man United defender for leaving out Chelsea star Cole Palmer and Bernardo Silva from his selection.
Despite that, they each picked eight of the same players, with both opting for a back four of Trent Alexander-Arnold, William Saliba, Virgil van Dijk and Destiny Udogie into their defence.
They also both selected Declan Rice in midfield, with the pair also picking Mohamed Salah, Jarrod Bowen and Son Heung-min as their attacking players.
Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville have named their Premier League team of the season so far and have agreed on eight selections
The pair discussed their selections on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Footaball show, after Liverpool defeated Newcastle 4-2
Neville criticised Carragher for leaving Erling Haaland and Rodri out of his selections
But there were some discrepancies in their XI’s, with Neville opting to add an extra striker, Haaland, into his team and play a four attackers with just Rice and Rodri holding in midfield.
Carragher slammed the former Man United defender’s team selections on Sky Sports claiming that it was going to be ‘the narrowest team I’ve ever seen in my life’ before adding ‘there’s absolutely no width whatsoever.’
Neville, meanwhile, hit back saying: ‘I think my team would beat your team Jamie.
‘We’d steam roller that lot,’ he added.
Neville also opted not to pick any Man United or Chelsea players in his side, claiming: ‘I couldn’t pick any one from Manchester United or Chelsea just because how bad they’ve been.’
But, Carragher, who chose a midfield three of Palmer, Silva and Rice, criticised him for omitting both the Chelsea and Manchester City star.
Carragher said: ‘I can’t believe you’ve not picked Bernardo Silva, I just think he’s sensational every season. And Cole Palmer, you said you can’t pick a certain player because a team hasn’t done so well, but that for me elevates Cole Palmer.
Despite that, Carragher hit back at his colleague for failing to include Cole Palmer and Bernardo Silva in his midfield
Neville’s team of the season so far included four attackers, but Carragher claimed that his team would be ‘too narrow’
Carraghers’ team, meanwhile, featured a 4-3-3 formation, with Rice, Palmer and Silva in the middle, with Vicario in net
‘His performances this season, he’s been Chelsea’s best player by a mile, yes that’s not too difficult. But I think Palmer has been one of the players of the season.’
Despite that Neville hit back at Carragher for not picking Rodri in his team.
‘Rodri is the best midfield player in the world in his position.’ Neville said. ‘They’ve won two trophies already and are about two points, three points off the top of the league. I can’t believe you’ve not picked Rodri in that midfield.
‘I love Bernardo Silva and I think Cole Palmer’s a great talent. I couldn’t pick any one for Chelsea or United, I just wrote them off. But Silva I couldn’t get him in ahead of any of my front four players; Haaland for me is the best striker in the world along with Harry Kane, he’s the top scorer in the league.’
In goal, Carragher opted to pick Vicario, while Neville chose Alisson. While the ex-Liverpool defender admitted that Alisson was one of the best in the world in his position, he justified his decision to pick Vicario, saying: ‘For a new goalkeeper to come into the Premier League and perform as well as he’s done, that’s why he’s in.’
The pair also agreed that Unai Emery was their manager of the season so far.
Reflecting on their joint selections, Neville praised Rice for his start to life at the Emirates and added that he felt there hadn’t been too many stand-out midfield players so far this season.
Carragher claimed that Bernardo Silva is ‘sensational every season’ and admitted he was aghast at why Neville had not picked him
Neville, meanwhile, claimed that he had snubbed all of Man United and Chelsea’s players because of ‘how bad both sides have been’
He also lauded Jarrod Bowen for his impressive performances for West Ham this season
Neville: ‘I think Declan Rice has had a good solid start at Arsenal maybe soured slightly in the past few weeks by the results. Generally he’s been a very good signing. He’s a big player for many years to come.
‘Midfield was a challenge and I think midfield was the area where I felt most like I was struggling in the sense that there’s no one been amazing in midfield. Rice is the pick of the bunch.’
On picking Jarrod Bowen up top, he added: ‘Bowen had to be in my team because of how well he’s done and the goals he’s scored and the impact he’s had and I always think when you’re doing that for a team that is not at the top and isn’t creating as much chances is more outstanding.
‘The thing I felt about uncomfortable with is having him as my sole centre-forward. In the end, because of my lack of options in midfield I went for the extra striker up top with Bowen.’
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
