Jamie Carragher came under fire for appearing to forget all about AFCON while assessing Mohamed Salah ‘s quest to be the best in the world.
The Liverpool forward showcased his tremendous ability once again vs Manchester City, scoring the opener in the Reds’ 2-0 win at the Etihad Stadium. The goal meant Salah moved to third in Liverpool’s all-time scoring charts while his assist for Dominik Szoboszlai meant it was the 11th time he had found the back of the net and set up another goal in the same game this season.
Despite turning 33 this year, Salah is having the best season of his life with plenty of games remaining this season. It is his electric form that led to a post-game discussion in the Sky Sports Studio. Carragher was in no doubt that Salah was one of the best in the world but believed there was an obvious blocker stopping him from being officially recognized.
“I think the problem (is) the fact he’s with Egypt, and he’s probably not playing in the major tournament as such or maybe got a great chance of winning, I think it’s either the Champions League or the major tournament,” Carragher said.
“Normally, the player who excels in that, like Vini Jr and (Kylian) Mbappe right now, Real Madrid looking really good going for the Champions League. Liverpool will be in that conversation, but right now (Los Blancos) is certainly the front runner.”
As soon as he failed to mention AFCON Carragher began to pick up some traction on social media. And that didn’t go unnoticed by his colleagues.
Micah Richards chimed in: “Just to say, AFCON is a major tournament because a lot of people are at home saying, ‘They aren’t taking it seriously’. AFCON is a big tournament, just so you know.”
Carragher clapped back by asking the Man City defender if he thought Egypt had a chance of winning the World Cup. To which Richards replied: “No, but AFCON is big, isn’t it?
“You remember when he and Mane were going for it and,” before being cut off by Carragher saying “Oh God.”
Former Liverpool forward Daniel Sturridge added his two cents on the topic in a bid to bring it to a close. “It’s a fact,” he stated. “It’s a fact. It’s a fact. If you win the Euros or Copa America it’s deemed to be big so the AFCON is at the same level.”
Liverpool takes on Newcastle next – a preview of the Carabao Cup final due to take place next month – with all eyes on if Liverpool can continue their Premier League dominance.