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Gary Neville remained true to his word by donning a Xherdan Shaqiri Liverpool shirt while live on Sky Sports – only to get his own back on fellow pundit Jamie Carragher immediately after.
Neville and Carragher returned to Monday Night Football duty alongside David Jones for Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace , offering up their cutting-edge insight on Arsenal’s win-less start to the season and Manchester United ’s weekend defeat by Brighton and Hove Albion.
They also dissected the result at Selhurst Park, which saw the Reds continue their perfect start to the season to keep pace with Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham, Watford and Bournemouth.
Show all 22 1 /22Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings CRYSTAL PALACE: Julian Speroni May have done a little better to save Sturridge’s equaliser. No goalkeeper ever wants to get to see the ball go through their legs. Fumbling Balotelli’s free kick which led to Lallana tapping into an open Crystal Palace net was costly. 6
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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Joel Ward On the right side of defence he was constantly having to watch the runs of Moreno who was relentless. He did his job reasonably well but was limited going forward. 5
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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Brede Hangeland Even his experience in central defence could not stop Crystal Palace losing this. He was calm enough and made sure Balotelli didn’t get into much space in the second half. 6
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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Scott Dann He had to contend with the pace of Sturridge and the creativity of Coutinho. He made no obvious errors. 6
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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Martin Kelly He was playing out of position and on occasions it was telling. He was routinely overrun by Henderson and wasn’t sharp enough to close down Coutinho outside the box. He was replaced by Adlene Guedioura midway into the second half. 5
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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Yannick Bolasie Strong and powerful on the break. His first half performance did fade, though in the second period he made it difficult for Sakho. He was replaced by Zaha towards the end of the second half. 6
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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Joe Ledley The midfielder worked very hard but he was quite easily bypassed by the Liverpool attack as they simply passed around him. He lacked the right sort of support behind him. 6
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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Pape Souare An impressive debut. Not afraid of the rough and tumble which he is likely to encounter in English football. Though his strong challenge on Henderson was probably a little over the top. 6
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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Dwight Gayle Excellent performance from the 24-year-old. He constantly put the Liverpool defence under threat with his Incisive runs down the left side. His initiative and bravery forced an opening for his side’s opener when his header was punched by Mignolet into the path of Campbell who swept home. He could have done better with two good chances to score either side of half time. 7
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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Marouane Chamakh He was replaced at half time by Jason Puncheon. It was no surprise either. With Gayle and Campbell expressing so much attacking intent, Chamakh was slow to get forward and slowed the play down too often. Earned himself a yellow card when he went in hard on Henderson. 5
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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Fraizer Campbell Showed great anticipation to move and finish into an open net when Mignolet saved Gayle’s header. A focal point for the Crystal Palace attack. 7
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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings LIVERPOOL: Simon Mignolet Criticised a few times this season, the Belgian goalkeeper didn’t make many errors of note. Crystal Palace’s first goal wasn’t his fault and he actually stopped Liverpool being 2-0 down shortly before the break when he expertly saved Gayle’s effort down to his left. 7
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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Emre Can A little quiet in this one. He was a bit more subdued against Crystal Palace than he was against Liverpool in the League Cup. He didn’t allow Puncheon much space in the second half. 6
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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Mamadou Sakho Picked up a knock in the second half. His composure is becoming a common thing and he can be relied upon especially when defending set pieces. 7
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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Martin Skrtel Dithered in the run up to Crystal Palace’s opener. His header back towards goal was too tame and Gayle was only too happy to gamble which led to Campbell scoring. Some may remember the tough time Skrtel endured when he had to defend against Gayle in the 3-3 thriller last season. 6
Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Alberto Moreno He was possibly allowed too much freedom by Martin Kelly and he took full advantage of that. 6
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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Lazar Markovic Very similar to Moreno. He’s very sharp on the right side. What he does brilliantly is time his runs inside almost to perfection. 7
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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Joe Allen Strong effort from 25-yards out on the first half that narrowly missed Speroni’s left post. He started the move that led to Liverpool’s equaliser. His ball to Henderson was key in the build up. 6
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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Jordan Henderson Allowed himself to get wound up by Gayle, so much so that he was booked for a tussle with the winger in the first half. Did very well to pick out Sturridge for Liverpool’s equaliser. Stepping into the shoes of Gerrard quite nicely. 7
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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Philippe Coutinho As clever as usual. The Brazilian, playing behind Sturridge, didn’t hold back when attacking. Lacked a little accuracy with his shooting, though. 7
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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Adam Lallana Enjoyed nowhere near the same amount of time on the ball as Coutinho, who was playing the other side of Sturridge. The presence of Pape Souare unsettled the Englishman enough to stop him going on so many adventurous runs that is usually such a big part of his game. His anticipation to finish off Balotelli’s free kick which was fumbled did prove to be the difference. 7
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Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings Off the bench - Mario Balotelli The power of his free kick caused Speroni to fumble into the path of Lallana. His presence did slightly unnerve the Crystal Palace defence but didn’t do his best to get into position where he could cause anything of great concern. 6
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But what Monday Night Football fans were really tuning in to see came long after the match had finished. Having lost a penalty shootout at the recent Premier League launch, Neville had promised to wear a Liverpool shirt at the orders of former England teammate Carragher.
Furthermore, the jersey had a personal message from summer signing Shaqiri, with Carragher getting the Swiss midfielder’s name on the back following a string of criticism from Neville during the recent World Cup for his perceived reluctance to defend.
“To my number 1 fan Gary. Please don't track back. Sorry, please don't back track on this bet,” Shaqiri wrote.
Carragher also wore a Gary Neville United shirt after losing a bet over former Spurs midfielder Paulinho (Sky Sports Premier League) However, knowing he was going to have to don the shirt of his arch-rivals, former Manchester United defender Neville produced a shirt of his own for Carragher to wear, recalling a previous bet that was yet to be settled.
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Carragher claimed previously that former Tottenham midfielder Paulinho would score 15 goals in a single season, which Neville recalled did not happen during the Brazilian’s brief time in the Premier League. Throwing a No 2 United shirt at him complete with the name ‘Neville’ on it, Neville put on his Liverpool shirt back-to-front so that Shaqiri’s message could be seen – also because he could not bear to have the Liverpool crest on his chest – while Carragher obliged and put on the United jersey.
Jamie Carragher (left) and Gary Neville (right) wore Manchester United and Liverpool shirts respectively (Sky Sports Premier League) The pair also promised to auction the shirts off to raise money for foodbank charities that are run by supporters of both Premier League clubs.
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