Jamie Carragher couldn’t resist a dig at Marcus Rashford after the Europa League anthem was mistakenly played before Aston Villa’s Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.
As the Villa and PSG players lined up in front of the crowd before kick-off at Villa Park, the Europa League anthem could be heard instead of the iconic Champions League music.
Both sets of players look puzzled as the Europa League music played around the stadium, while Villa defender Ezri Konsa facepalmed and shook his head.
Carragher, meanwhile, saw the funny side during CBS Sports’ live coverage but as the camera panned to Rashford, the former Liverpool defender took aim at Manchester United’s on-loan forward.
‘I mean, actually… Marcus Rashford seems fine – he’s used to it,’ Carragher said, in reference to United’s frequent failure to reach the Champions League.
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Speaking about the anthem error at Villa Park, former Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker told CBS Sports: ‘I would’ve laughed, I would’ve said, ‘what nugget pressed the wrong button?’.
‘I’ll be laughing to myself but at that point you’re just so focused on the game as a player.
‘It doesn’t make a difference. Nico [Cantor] made the point where he said if you’re Paris Saint-Germain you’re probably going to be arrogant and say, ‘how are we playing these guys who are playing the wrong anthem?’. It might motivate them a bit more.
‘I don’t look it as too much of a big deal. It’s more of an embarrassment from the club perspective, but those players there, they’re already dialled in and tuned in.
‘I don’t think it’s too much of a big thing from a player perspective.’
CBS Sports pundit Nico Cantor added: ‘I grew up in a football culture where every single detail matters,
‘From what you eat before the game, what you’re doing the night before, to how you finish the game in minute 90 – it’s just embarrassing.
‘It’s so anti-climatic to then go out and see my players lined up and it’s the Europa League anthem, that’s just not how you want to go out.’
Villa, meanwhile, ended up securing a 3-2 victory in the return leg against PSG on Tuesday night but it wasn’t enough to reach the Champions League semi-final as the French side won 5-4 on aggregate.
PSG took a two-goal lead in the first half at Villa Park through Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes but Unai Emery’s side staged an impressive comeback with Youri Tielemans, John McGinn and Konsa all finding the net.
However, Villa were unable to find that vital fourth goal at Villa Park before the full-time whistle, bringing an end to an impressive run in the Champions League this season.
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