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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Tom Blow

Gary Neville's and Jamie Carragher's MNF Awards revealed as Liverpool stars clean up

Jurgen Klopp was named Monday Night Football's Coach of the Year following a stellar campaign at Liverpool.

Pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher dished out their end-of-season awards following Sky Sports' final MNF show of the campaign, which saw Newcastle defeat Arsenal 2-0 at St James' Park to hand Tottenham the initiative in the Champions League race.

Speaking after the match, both Neville and Carragher named Klopp as their Coach of the Year. The Reds have won the EFL Cup and FA Cup and will take on the Real Madrid in the Champions League final on May 28. They can also move within a point of Manchester City in the Premier League title race with a win against Southampton on Tuesday.

"I think one of the biggest strengths of Jurgen Klopp - and obviously he is brilliant at everything - is his personality, his character," Carragher told Sky Sports. "That ability to come back and fight. They only made one signing in the summer, [Ibrahima] Konate, a back-up centre-back. And they have played 60 games this season and lost three."

Neville added: "Three finals. Getting close to City. I think it is undisputed. What he has done this season is absolutely exceptional. He built that great team for three or four years and I thought they were just going over the edge a bit. Decline. Not a big amount. But he has just brought them back. It is absolutely brilliant what he has done."

Carragher and Neville also agreed to give Declan Rice their Young Player of the Year crown. Rice helped West Ham challenge for Champions League qualification and led them to a Europa League semi-final, with several clubs now interested in signing him.

Declan Rice was hailed by Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher (Getty Images)

Do you agree with Monday Night Football's end-of-season awards? Let us know in the comments below!

"The English player that all the top clubs want," said Neville. "Whether they can get him out of West Ham, whether they can afford him, is another matter. He may have to do another season at West Ham. He has just been a really good performer in a great West Ham season, reaching the semi-final of the Europa League. He is a massive performer for them."

Yet the two Premier League legends could not agree on their Player of the Year. Carragher handed the honour to Kevin De Bruyne for spearheading City's title challenge, while Neville gave the honour to Heung-min Son for keeping Tottenham's European hopes alive.

Elsewhere, Tottenham's Cristian Romero was named Carragher's Best New Player, while Neville gave the award to Liverpool's Luis Diaz. Carragher thought Mohamed Salah deserved the Goal of the Season award for his strike against City at Anfield, yet Neville handed that honour to Mateo Kovacic for his volley against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.

The final prize of the evening was the Team of the Year. Seven players made it into both teams, selecting a front three of Salah, Harry Kane and Son. Kyle Walker, who's only played 20 Premier League games this season, was a surprise inclusion in Neville's side.

Gary Neville's XI: Alisson, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Mohamed Salah, Harry Kane, Son Heung-min.

Jamie Carragher's XI: Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk, Joao Cancelo, Kevin De Bruyne, Declan Rice, Bernardo Silva, Mohamed Salah, Harry Kane, Son Heung-min.

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