Carragher says if he were playing he would face Aguero instead of Lukaku

Jamie Carragher has revealed that if he were still playing, he would rather face Sergio Aguero on the pitch instead of Romelu Lukaku.

The two strikers have started the season well for their clubs, scoring six top flight goals already both Manchester teams in joint-first positions in the table.

Lukaku has already broken a record for scoring more goals in the first opening games, with six, but it is not his thirst in front of goal that Carragher finds the most threatening – it is his how many physical problems he gives defenders.

“The one I’d like to play against the most – ‘like’ is the wrong word – is possibly Aguero,” Carragher said on Monday Night Football, while he and Thierry Henry were comparing Lukaku to Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata, Spurs’ Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero, of Manchester City.

“Because sometimes it’s not all about ‘oh, he scored the goal’, it’s about who has given you the biggest problems in 90 minutes.

“Someone like Lukaku against someone like me, if he got me in certain positions he could just knock me out of the way and run past me.”

Carragher spent his entire senior career at Liverpool and was a mainstay in their defensive line-up. He himself is known to favour some off-the-rails challenges and hard tackles, but feels even he is no match for United’s star forward.

Carragher picked Lukaku as his toughest opponent out of four other forwards – including Aguero, Morata and Kane. Each forward is the highest-scoring forward for each of their respective clubs, with at least four goals to each of their names, though the former defender believes Lukaku’s strong build ultimately gives him the edge that makes him a defensive nightmare.

“I couldn’t cope physically or pace-wise with [Lukaku]. So that would be a very difficult game,” said Carragher.

Manchester United face CSKA Moscow in the Champions League group stage on Wednesday.