Jamie Carragher lauds 22-year-old Chelsea star for stepping up to show ‘captain-like authority’ against his team-mate and ‘seasoned professional Raheem Sterling’ during the Blues’ 2-2 draw against Arsenal
- Arsenal came back on Saturday afternoon to secure a 2-2 draw against Chelsea
- During the match, Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer both battled for a penalty
- Listen to the latest episode of the ‘Mail Sport’ podcastIt all starts!‘
Jamie Carragher has praised Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez for the authority he showed in telling Raheem Sterling to let Cole Palmer take a penalty during the 2-2 draw against Arsenal on Saturday.
It was a disappointing result for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, who let Arsenal back into the match late in the game despite leading by two goals. Cole Palmer would get the first from the penalty spot, before Mykhailo Mudryk caught David Raya stepping out of his goal and curled the ball into the back of the net.
Declan Rice pulled one back in the 77th minute, before substitute Leandro Trossard leveled the score in the 84th minute.
Palmer was a star performer for Chelsea throughout the match, but an on-pitch dispute between him and Raheem Sterling was one of the main talking points after the match.
Cole Palmer (left) and Raheem Sterling (right) argued over who should take a penalty during Chelsea’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal
Jamie Carragher said he didn’t like seeing the pair bickering but spoke highly of one of their Chelsea teammates
Carragher said Enzo Fernandez showed ‘authority’ in telling Sterling to let Palmer take the penalty
Before his penalty, Sterling appeared to argue with the youngster over who should take the penalty, with Palmer grabbing the ball and holding it out for the winger.
Enzo Fernandez can be seen approaching the pair and appears to diffuse the situation by telling Sterling to let the 21-year-old take the penalty.
And while Carragher admitted he didn’t like seeing players fight over who should take penalties, he praised Fernandez for calmly diffusing the situation while at the same time giving Palmer the spot-kick.
“I don’t really like that,” Carragher said during the altercation on Monday Night Football. ‘I think people should know who the penalty taker is before the match.’
‘The only thing I liked was the authority that Enzo Fernandez showed there.
“For a young player to say to a seasoned professional in Raheem Sterling, ‘listen, Cole Palmer is taking it’, and almost in a cool way it almost came across as ‘captain-like’ – like he’s in his early 30s.”
He added: ‘I thought that was very interesting. And it was good to see Cole Palmer score for his performance.”
The Argentine (right) was seen chatting to the pair as they jostled for the ball
It would be Palmer who would ultimately take the penalty and he netted the ball, giving Chelsea the lead in the first half.
