Carragher should be first choice for England
The 29-year-old was outstanding in the 1-0 defeat by Barcelona which saw the Reds progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League on away goals after a 2-1 win at the Nou Camp.
During a tense 90 minutes at Anfield, Carragher shackled the combined talents of Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o, drawing fulsome praise from a usually reserved Benitez.
“It surprises me that Jamie is not a regular in the England team,” said the Spaniard of the player who has won 32 caps, of which only 18 have been in the starting line-up.
“I don’t like praising just one player after a performance like that against Barcelona. Everyone contributed. The team, all of them, were giving something to the team in a brilliant night.
“But it was an astonishing performance from Jamie. When defenders like Jamie have to play against world-class players like Ronaldinho, it is important that they do not make mistakes – and he didn’t. He is such a good defender against the very best players and, yes, it is a surprise that such a really good defender does not play every game for his country.”
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard agreed with Benitez’s assessment of Carragher’s performance and importance to the side.
He said: “Over the two legs, Carra has been phenomenal. Maybe there are a few outside Liverpool who are surprised by how good he has been, but it is no surprise to me or anyone else who has seen him just get better and better every season.
“I look around at the defenders across Europe and the rest of the world, and I really do not see anyone who is better than him. I definitely would not swap him for anyone.
“I also know the England manager Steve McClaren was in the crowd at Anfield against Barcelona, and after seeing a performance like that, it is going to make his next team selection very interesting.”
Benitez also praised the other members of his defence who kept Barca down to one goal – from sub Eidur Gudjohnsen 15 minutes from time.
“Alvaro Arbeloa, Steve Finnan, all of them were fantastic. It is not fair to talk of just one,” said Benitez. “Jamie was exceptional, I cannot disagree with that, but all of my team were fantastic on such an occasion.
“It is hard to contain Barcelona all the time. They stretched us and have wonderful players in all areas and it is impossible to maintain a high-pressure game all the time in those conditions.
“That is why individual performances sometimes hold the key.”
Carragher insists Liverpool are full of confidence as they await their quarter-final opponents in Friday’s draw.
“The club has got a great history in Europe but, besides winning finals, this is probably the biggest result in Europe we’ve ever had,” said the Bootle-born defender. “Barcelona are the best club side in the world, even though we’ve knocked them out.
“Yes, we were hanging on with 10-12 minutes to go and we were just praying for the whistle. We didn’t realise until a few seconds after the referee blew that it was all over with all the noise, and we got there in the end.”
Due to Liverpool’s progression in the Champions League their Easter Monday home Premiership match against Middlesbrough has been postponed.
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