'He's a loose cannon!' - Erling Haaland makes hilarious dig at Jamie Carragher amid Mohamed Salah row after Man City beat Real Madrid

Rodrygo had put Madrid ahead on 28 minutes, finishing sharply after a sweeping counter-attack to end a prolonged goal drought. But City, as they so often do, responded almost immediately. A chaotic scramble in the Madrid box allowed 18-year-old Nico O’Reilly to stab home from close range, levelling the match and stunning a restless Bernabéu crowd. Just before the interval, Haaland was bundled over by Antonio Rudiger, and he dispatched the resulting penalty, sending Thibaut Courtois the wrong way. Madrid pushed hard in the second half as Jude Bellingham saw his lofted, delicate effort sail over the woodwork and Endrick’s late header skimmed the crossbar, but Pep Guardiola’s side held firm to leave Spain with vital three points.

The entertainment did not stop at full-time. Appearing on CBS Sports Golazo, Haaland joined Kate Abdo, Thierry Henry, Micah Richards and Carragher for an interview that quickly veered into playful chaos. 

Richards began by asking the striker how he was feeling. Haaland smirked: "I’m getting nervous with Jamie Carragher in the studio!" The comment triggered a burst of laughter before Carragher reassured him, perhaps not entirely convincingly, "You don’t need to be nervous, Erling."

When asked to choose between Carragher and Rudiger, his bruising marker for much of the match, Haaland fired another shot. He said: "I mean, I think I have to say Rudiger now because Carragher is a bit of a loose cannon now."

The jokes continued when Carragher invited Haaland onto his Stick to Football podcast alongside Roy Keane. With a grin, the striker replied: "I mean Jamie Carragher in this moment, and Roy Keane, I think I need to bring my father." Haaland’s comment referenced the infamous clash between Keane and his father, Alf-Inge Haaland, over two decades ago in the Manchester derby when a rash tackle from the United midfielder almost ended Haaland senior's career. Carragher could only laugh and seal it with: "It’s a deal."

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Carragher's explosive criticism of Salah after Liverpool’s weekend draw has stirred controversy. Speaking on Monday Night Football, Carragher accused Salah of deliberately fuelling tension by giving a rare mixed-zone interview that took aim at Slot and the club officials. 

"I thought it was a disgrace what he did after the game," Carragher said. "Some people have painted it as an emotional outburst, I do not think it was. I think whenever Mo Salah stops in a mixed zone, which he's done four times in eight years at Liverpool, it is choreographed by him and his agent to cause maximum damage and to strengthen his own position.

"He did that 12 months ago and I called him out on this show about it. He played on the heartstrings of the Liverpool supporters. Liverpool were top of the league and he'd scored the wining goal at Southampton. That was the time to come out and put pressure on the Liverpool ownership. For the rest of the season you have banners in the crowd saying 'Give Mo his dough'. He's chosen this weekend to do this now and he's waited for a bad result, they've conceded a last minute goal. The Liverpool supporters, the manager, the whole club feels like it is in the gutter at the moment, and he's chosen that time to go for the manager and maybe try and get him sacked. That's the way I felt about it."

The former defender softened his stance slightly after Liverpool’s Champions League win over Inter Milan, addressing Salah directly: "Mo, I apologise if I’ve upset you. I love you as a Liverpool player, but you need to behave yourself off the pitch."

With the forward benched for three straight Premier League matches and talk of a move to Saudi Arabia has accelerated.

At the World Football Summit in Riyadh, Saudi league executive Omar Mugharbel openly acknowledged interest in the Egyptian superstar. "Mohamed Salah is welcome in the Saudi League," he said. "The clubs are responsible for negotiations, but he is certainly one of the targets."

According to The Telegraph, Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad are preparing to test Liverpool’s resolve, believing they can tempt Salah with a package that could eclipse previous offers rejected by the Premier League club.