Gary Neville hits out at Cole Palmer after what he did at FT against Man City and says he's been 'played'

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has hit out at Chelsea star Cole Palmer for his actions after the 3-1 loss to Manchester City.

On Saturday, Man City thrust their way back into the Premier League top four with an impressive 3-1 win over Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium.

The visitors went up early in the game as Noni Madueke found the back of the net after just three minutes, but goals from Josko Gvardiol, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden sealed the three points for the home team.

Immediately after the match, Neville called out Chelsea's star player Palmer, after he felt that his performance in the match, and his actions after the final whistle, were not good enough.

Speaking post-match on the Gary Neville podcast, the Manchester United legend called out both Palmer and teammate Reece James for not pushing hard enough or taking risks in the game, particularly after they had surrendered their 1-0 lead.

However, the pundit also singled out Palmer for his decision to enjoy a friendly chat with City manager Pep Guardiola on the pitch after the 3-1 loss, implying it was disrespectful to Chelsea fans that had travelled to the game.

“I’ll say something about Cole Palmer. He was talking to Pep Guardiola on the pitch right at the end of the game, and he was smiling with him, and Pep Guardiola does that. Cole, you’re being played. You’re being played here," Neville said.

“You didn’t do enough out on that pitch. He’s an amazing player, absolutely brilliant, but you know something, those Chelsea fans that have travelled today, three or four thousand of them in that far corner – they wanted better than that, they don’t really want to see you conversing with the opposition manager and smiling at the end of the game.

“I’m not being old school, but there' something about that. Guardiola’s playing you here. I know he’s had him here but he didn't play him, but he sold him.

Gary Neville criticised Cole Palmer for having a friendly chat with Man City boss Pep Guardiola after Chelsea's 3-1 loss on Saturday. (Image: Getty)

“Have a conversation inside, I’m not against that, obviously he’s played for the manager, but I just felt at the end, there was something about it that I didn’t feel was right from a Cole Palmer perspective.”

Having come through the City academy, Palmer spent three years playing as a senior player under Guardiola before the Catalan manager decided to sell him to Premier League rivals Chelsea in September 2023 for a reported fee of £42.5million.

Since then the Englishman has gone on to score an impressive 39 goals and assist another 21 in 70 appearances for the London club.