Tottenham midfielder James Maddison left Roy Keane in a very awkward spot when deciding to take part in a post-match interview following the Europa League final. Spurs ended their 17-year trophy drought with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in Bilbao, with Brennan Johnson scoring the all-important goal when he managed to smother a cross beyond Andre Onana thanks to a deflection off of Luke Shaw.
Maddison was unable to feature in the final due to injury, but that didn’t stop the England international from taking the chance to show off that he was a Europa League winner to one of his most recent critics: Keane. The ex-United captain slammed Maddison for his lack of consistency earlier this season, as well as his darts celebration, and the playmaker was quick to join CBS Sport coverage and show off his winners’ medal.
He started his interview by saying: “I wasn’t gonna do any interviews but I heard Roy Keane was in the studio tonight!” The punditry team soon burst into laughter, with Micah Richards then encouraging the 28-year-old to do his darts celebration down the camera, to which he obliged, saying: “Oh I will, Micah, with pleasure – Roy Keane, that’s for you, son!”
An embarrassed Keane responded with a light-hearted jab at how Maddison didn’t feature in the final itself, saying: “I’ve always said he’s a good player, he needs to be more consistent, simple as that. And he played well tonight.”
Maddison replied: “I’m the reason we’re here tonight, Roy.” The ex-Red Devils skipper graciously concluded the exchange, saying: “Don’t worry, I know you played your part. Well done.”
The former Leicester City star then went on to speak about the importance of winning the trophy, how pundit criticism spurred the team on and how win allows the club to put years of heartbreak behind them.
To conclude the interview, Richards then asked about who his favourite pundit on the panel. Maddison then asked: “Roy’s not a regular, is he?” prompting Jamie Carragher to interject and joke: “Bit like you at Spurs!”
Maddison quickly quipped back: “Turned up in all the big ones, Carra. You go and check your stats.” The punditry team fell about laughing before Maddison insisted that Richards was his favourite and headed off to soak up the rest of the Tottenham celebrations and ‘enjoy a beer’.