Fans think Man City have sent Cole Palmer brutal dig after Carabao Cup final defeat

Fans think Manchester City aimed a brutal dig at former player Cole Palmer after the Carabao Cup final, and some aren't impressed.

On Sunday Chelsea lost 0-1 to Liverpool in the final of the Carabao Cup, with Virgil van Dijk scoring a 118th minute winner at Wembley Stadium.

Both sides could have won the game in 90 minutes, but Chelsea faded in extra-time and failed to test a youthful and injury-hit Liverpool side.

Cole Palmer was arguably the only Chelsea player who didn't looked fazed by the occasion, like most of his senior and younger teammates did.

The 21-year-old has impressed at Stamford Bridge since making a £40 million switch from Manchester City last summer, and has been one of the few bright points about Mauricio Pochettino's side during a disappointing campaign.

Palmer has earned the nickname 'Cold Palmer' in recent months thanks in part to his composure and ability to keep his head during games despite his age.

He's even adopted a goal celebration to go with his new nickname, in which he clutches his arms and pretends to shiver.

However, after he came so close to winning his first trophy with Chelsea, fans think Palmer's former club City mocked him on social media.

At 6pm GMT on Sunday, less than 20 minutes after the final whistle at Wembley, City published on X a photo of Phil Foden standing in a cryotherapy chamber while wearing a wooly hat and a face mask.

Cryotherapy is the practice of exposing athletes to extremely cold temperatures for short periods of time to boost muscle recovery.

🥶🥶🥶 pic.twitter.com/n8XlHZc5LK

— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 25, 2024

City's admin accompanied the photo of Palmer's former teammate with three cold shivering emojis.

On X, some fans saw the tweet as a deliberate dig at City academy graduate Palmer.

"Trolling Palmer now," one follower replied, while others commented "Cooking Palmer you know," and "We see what you did there wadmin."

However, not everyone was so impressed, with City accused of lacking class.

"City really trolling their own academy graduate Cole Palmer?" one X user asked.

Two more fans replied: "Trolling a 20 year old??? So shameless. Embarrassing!" and "Trolling your boy? Have some class."

While Palmer has won silverware this season - he scored for City in the UEFA Super Cup defeat of Sevilla last August - he has now lost a Wembley final twice this term.

Palmer scored the opener in the Community Shield against Arsenal in August, but City conceded a late equaliser and went on to lose the penalty shootout.