‘You did drop deep towards the end of your career.’
Roy Keane and Micah Richards enjoyed a joke about Gary Neville’s playing days as the former Manchester United defender discussed the evolution of the full-back.
Neville was speaking after Manchester City and Liverpool’s pulsating 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, with Pep Guardiola’s men maintaining their one-point lead over Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Kevin De Bruyne opened the scoring for the home side before Diogo Jota levelled proceedings in the 13th minute. However, Gabriel Jesus restored City’s lead before the half-time break.
Liverpool started the second period brightly and equalised again when Sadio Mane converted past Ederson following Mohamed Salah’s inviting pass.
Neville praises ‘exceptional’ City and Liverpool.
After the game, Neville, Jamie Carragher, Keane and Richards were discussing the importance of the two sides’ full-backs, with Neville admitting that they are ‘expectational’ and completely different types of players to how he used to operate.
Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: “They are expectational teams, so good. What I admire most about them is from a defensive point of view, you could never have got me, you [Jamie Carragher] or you [Micah Richards] to push high up the pitch with 10 minutes to go like those two team have.
“The nerve to do that under the highest pressure against the highest opponent, with the best passers, the best runners, is unbelievable it really is.
“We’ve seen teams push up high before, we’ve seen the Arsenal team with Tony Adams pushing up high in the past, but never like I think we’ve seen with these two teams today.”
Richards fired back at Neville, joking that he had got it wrong. He said: “I was lighting, don’t put me in the same category as you and Carra [Jamie Carragher]! Don’t you dare!
Keane was also quick to chip in with a response, adding: “You did drop deep towards the end of your career Gary I have to say, you were behind the goal at one stage.
Richards: 🗣️ "I was lightning! Don't put me in the same category as you & Carra!"
Keane: 🗣️ "You did drop deep towards the end of your career. You were behind the goal at one stage."
The comebacks fired at Gary Neville 😆 pic.twitter.com/fKw70QksDk
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 10, 2022
Liverpool host Benfica in the Champions League quarter-final second-leg on Wednesday night, having secured a 3-1 victory in Portugal earlier this week.
On the other hand, Man City travel to Madrid to face off against Diego Simeone’s men, having won 1-0 in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium.
The two teams will then come together once against to contest for a spot in the FA Cup final when they meet in the semi-final at Wembley on Sunday afternoon.
