Jamie Carragher has recalled how Wayne Rooney confessed Manchester United celebrated Liverpool’s victory over Chelsea in the 2007 Champions League semi-final.

United and Liverpool have one of the biggest rivalries in football but the Red Devils were happy for their enemies to defeat Jose Mourinho’s side.

It took a penalty shoot-out to separate the teams with Dirk Kuyt scoring the decisive spot-kick in front of the Anfield crowd.

The Reds faced AC Milan in a re-run of the 2005 final but this time they failed to come out on top.

Milan had defeated United in the other semi-final a day after Liverpool’s victory over the Blues.

But in an interview with former captain John Terry, Carragher recalled how Rooney told him he and his team-mates had celebrated Chelsea’s defeat prior to their own exit from the competition.

‘Wayne Rooney told me a story, I think it was 2007, we played you [Chelsea] and I think they were playing AC Milan,’ Carragher said on Sky Sports’ Off Script show.

‘And Milan ended up beating them but we must have played the night before.

‘And Wayne Rooney told me when we won on penalties all the Man United [players] watching it together in the hotel erupted and cheered.

‘You think Liverpool-Man United, the rivalry, so I think it shows how respected you [Chelsea] were as a team, and feared, but also how much Jose and Chelsea at that time got under so many people’s skin.’