Jamie Carragher has hit out at Liverpool fans on social media after receiving backlash for his comments on Cole Palmer.
The former Reds defender praised the Chelsea star after he scored twice from the penalty spot in Chelsea’s 4-2 win over Tottenham on Sunday, taking the Blues to within four points of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.
Palmer’s double took him to 11 goals for the season - two behind Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland – having finished the previous campaign second in the top scorers list with 22. Carragher believes his form since joining Chelsea in the summer of 2023 has not been matched by anyone else in the league.
"I loved him last season, and he's started this season really well,” Carragher told Sky Sports. “If you look at his almost 18 months at Chelsea, I don't think there's been a player in the Premier League that's performed better than him over these 18 months.
"And he hasn't been playing for the best team, though they look like one of the best teams in the league right now.
"He's probably on the same sort of level as what I saw Eden Hazard do, though over a longer period of time [for Hazard], four or five years.”
Carragher’s comments though were panned by Liverpool fans, who argued that the former defender had overlooked Salah. The Egyptian has 13 goals and eight assists in the Premier League this season, and 27 goal involvements in just 21 appearances across all competitions.
The backlash comes after Carragher caused controversy by calling Salah “selfish” for speaking out over his contract situation ahead of the games against Real Madrid and Manchester City. Salah himself responded to the comments after winning the player of the match award against City, suggesting he wouldn’t have won it if Carragher had been picking.
Some Liverpool fans have accused Carragher of deliberately not acknowledging Salah, with one fan posting part of his comments on X along with the message: “Be serious, @Carra23. Trying way too hard.”
Carragher responded: “Maybe you try harder at putting the full quote out! I said he’s been the best player over 18 months which he has in my eyes. And you probably know I said that but your desperation for likes & retweets knows no bounds!! Your account is so bad, please stop following me.”
Liverpool.com says: Carragher has certainly caused another storm with his comments, mostly because a lot of people simply aren’t listening to everything he said. What a lot of Liverpool fans on social media are forgetting is that Salah had a spell out injured at the start of 2024, and his form after returning wasn’t brilliant, with just three goals in his last 11 appearances of the season.
In fact, he actually found himself being dropped to the bench toward the end of the campaign – remember his fallout with Jurgen Klopp at West Ham? Salah has undoubtedly been the best player in the Premier League so far this season, but if you’re talking about the last 18 months, as Carragher is, then Palmer probably does edge it.