Cole Palmer has hit back at Sergio Gomez after his Manchester City teammate criticised the youngster’s behaviour during the U-21 Euros final.
On Saturday England ended a 39-year wait to win the U-21 European Championship when Lee Carsley’s side beat Spain 1-0 in Batumi, Georgia.
City youngster Cole Palmer played a key role in the winning goal, as it was his free-kick that deflected off Curtis Jones and deceived Spanish goalkeeper Arnau Tenas.
Tensions between the two sides threatened to boil over at various points during the match, including in the aftermath of England’s goal and James Trafford’s late penalty save.
Palmer explains his reaction
City youngster Sergio Gomez – who was the top scorer at the tournament – was not best pleased with how club mate Palmer celebrated both incidents.
“It surprised me. He didn’t want to apologise or anything like some of his other teammates”, the Spaniard said.
Gomez also called out a perceived lack of sportsmanship from England, saying, “I don’t know, I would have celebrated it in a different way and my teammates would have done it in a different way as well. They [England] have the attitude they want to have. This is not the first time something like this has happened with this team. They wanted to celebrate it like this and also after the missed penalty.”
Now, Palmer has opened up on his exuberant celebrations.
“I was a bit frustrated because the game, well, the way they were going down and screaming and stuff,” Palmer said, via MailSport.
“So obviously when I scored, I just, the celebration might have been a bit over-the-top, but I’m just happy.”
City duo will get over it
Now that Palmer has come out and explained his actions, he and Gomez should move on ahead of City’s pre-season tour in a couple of weeks.
Gomez might not have received the apology he was looking for, but can he really begrudge Palmer for going a little overboard when celebrating such a significant victory?
