Pep Guardiola couldn’t believe Jamie Carragher’s comments. (Image: CBS/BEANYMAN SPORTS)
has publicly defended himself after dismayed reaction to the pundit jokingly claiming purposely avoided facing . Haaland was a substitute in 3-1 defeat at the Bernabeu, having been deemed unfit to start, and is a doubt for Sunday’s clash against .
Working alongside Micah Richards and Thierry Henry in Spain for CBS on the night of the game, Carragher suggested the 24-year-old didn’t fancy a duel with Real centre-back Antonio Rudiger.
“So let me work this out. Haaland has gone to the manager this morning and said he’s not fit?” the Liverpool icon questioned.
“Do you think it’s got something to do with Rudiger? Is that because Rudiger is playing?
“He’s on the bench, so he can’t be injured. I never went to see the manager on the morning of a game and said I’m not fit. So he’s injured, is he?”
Carragher then left Richards particularly disappointed by adding: “It’s Rudiger-itis, is it? Is that what we’re saying here?”
Guardiola couldn’t help but shake his head in disbelief after being informed of the wild claims during his press conference ahead of the Liverpool game.
He reacted: “Oh, God. Did he say that? Jamie Carragher said that? Oh God. Don’t laugh. I don’t know why he makes that suspicious, you know that?
??????️ Jamie Carragher suggested that Haaland pulled out of the game because he didn’t want to come up against Rudiger.“Oh god.. Did Jamie Carragher say that? Oh God…. I don’t laugh”, says Pep. ??????
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano)
Erling Haaland came on and battled Antonio Rudiger. (Image: Getty)
“Did he say that Haaland didn’t want to play the game? It’s not nice — and it’s not true.
“He was crazy to play the game but had a problem with his knee and could not play.”
Carragher wasn’t happy that the tone of questioning painted his comments as if they were serious and leapt onto social media to clarify.
“It was a joke to wind up Micah Richards as that’s the nature of our show on CBS,” the 47-year-old posted on X in an attempt to defend himself.
Haaland is suffering from a knee injury and faces a late fitness test to determine whether he can feature against Liverpool.
Arne Slot’s league leaders visit the Etihad Stadium aiming to extend their advantage over Arsenal to 11 points with 33 left on offer.
The Gunners’ faint title hopes were dealt a hammer blow on Saturday as Jarrod Bowen’s goal earned West Ham United a 1-0 win at the Emirates Stadium.
Carragher’s comments will undoubtedly serve as motivation for Guardiola and Haaland to play their part in offering Mikel Arteta a reprieve against Liverpool.