Carragher makes bold statement to Vinicius Jr after superb goal for Madrid in City draw

Jamie Carragher says Vinicius Junior 'goes higher up the list' of the best players in world football every time he watches him play for Real Madrid, and joked that he would be considered the best s he had scored a second against Manchester City.

The Brazilian opened the scoring for Madrid at the Bernabeu in the 1-1 draw, letting a pass drift across his body before kicking the ball into the corner past Ederson.

Speaking at half-time of the thrilling Champions League encounter, Carragher said: "Typical for Real Madrid, Manchester City had dominated possession and they were so in control, but you can't always press all the field and go man to man, sometimes you need zonal. Bernardo Silva, Rodri… [to be left by] Camavinga and he runs in acres of space.

"Vinicius Jr, he comes in because Camavinga is on that overlap and I mean, what a strike it is. I said before the game, he's in the top five players in the world, every time I watch him play, he goes higher on this list."

Micah Richards then chimed in and asked, "Top two now?"

And ironically, Carragher replied, "Mmm…he'll be the best if he gets another one!"

Steve McManaman was also impressed with Vinicius' striking when commenting: "I didn't know a man his size could hit that hard!"

The goal was the winger's 23rd of the season, his strike in last year's final securing Madrid's 14th European Cup with a win over Liverpool.

Rio Ferdinand also marveled at the goal but was also impressed with how Real Madrid controlled the first half.

"I marveled at the composure, the bravery, the way Real sit and wait," Ferdinand said.

"City came here, they absolutely beat them in terms of possession, but that doesn't count for anything, they sit and wait, they're calm, they focus and then when it comes to pounce, the clinical element of this team speaks for itself.

"Modric wins the ball, beats the press. Vinicius, I was going crazy, it was crazy."

Sitting alongside Ferdinand, Michael Owen wondered if City could have stopped the Brazilian before he attempted his special shot on goal.

Owen said: "It's a great finish. There are a lot of numbers for City, can someone commit a bit earlier? You can't take anything away from this finish."

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