Nobody can ever question that the Istanbul heroics in 2005 were anything short of remarkable but Jamie Carragher may have found a reason for them to be even more impressive.
On the latest episode of The Overlap, Gary Neville discussed how he questioned the legitimacy of the fitness of some Italian teams he faced in the early 2000’s – making clear references to possible doping.
In response to a clip of this chat that was shared on X, our former defender wrote: ‘The result in Istanbul is even more impressive now @GNev2 😎’.
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It was certainly some strong accusations in the initial video which also featured Ian Wright and Roy Keane, something which was quite brave to put out on the internet.
Although this is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek response from the Scouser, it does add a question of whether there were some outside powers working in favour of Carlo Ancelotti’s side during that first-half.
Perhaps the best evidence against any substance abuse is the subsequent capitulation by the Italians in Turkey but it’s certainly an interesting argument.
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We’ll never know for sure what happened in that Champions League final, or in Serie A during this period but claims like this by the former Manchester United teammates will certainly add fuel to the fire of any others with similar opinions.
Maybe one day in the future we may learn that Rafa Benitez’s side on that night were even more heroic than we already realised.
You can view Carragher’s comments and the video via @Carra23 on X:
The result in Istanbul is even more impressive now @GNev2 😎 https://t.co/d1SIA5Ogp7
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) February 8, 2024
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