Jamie Carragher has criticized Manchester City fans for their provocative display before their team's 3-2 loss to Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League play-off at the Etihad on Tuesday. Before the match, City supporters unveiled a banner showing Rodri kissing the Ballon d'Or, accompanied by a message reading, "Stop crying your heart out." The banner was seen as a clear attempt to wind up Real Madrid, particularly in response to Vinicius Jr and the club's reaction after the Brazilian winger lost the Ballon d'Or in October.
Carragher was unimpressed by the move, taking to X (formerly Twitter) to express his frustration. "Let’s wind Real Madrid up, even though we’ve still got to go to the Bernabeu next week," he said, clearly baffled by the decision. During CBS Sports' coverage of the match, he called the stunt "absolutely ridiculous" and questioned what City’s supporters hoped to achieve. "Why annoy people? Why wind someone up?" Carragher continued. "Do it at the end of the game if you've won and knocked them out, but why do it before the game?"
He also pointed out that, as a player, he would not appreciate such gestures. "If I was a Man City player, and Steven Gerrard had won the Ballon d'Or and we were playing Real Madrid, that’d annoy me," Carragher admitted. He expressed that such actions could jinx a team, making it harder to play without distraction.
Real Madrid responded emphatically on the field, with Vinicius Jr. admitting that the banner gave him extra motivation to perform. Speaking to TNT Sports Brasil, Vinicius said, "Whenever the opposing fans do things, they give me more strength to play a great game." He added that Real Madrid's rich history in the Champions League was always a source of inspiration for the team, and they had proven their resilience by securing a crucial victory in Manchester.
Despite Erling Haaland’s brace for City, Real Madrid mounted a strong comeback, with Kylian Mbappe and Brahim Diaz scoring second-half goals. Jude Bellingham then sealed the win with a last-minute strike, handing Madrid a valuable lead to take back to the Santiago Bernabeu for the second leg next week. The banner clearly had the opposite effect to what City fans intended, as Real Madrid's players used the extra motivation to assert their dominance in the tie.
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