Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has responded to Jamie Carragher's recent claims about Erling Haaland.
On Wednesday night, City's Champions League dream turned into a nightmare as they fell to a 3-1 defeat against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
A Kylian Mbappe hat-trick sealed the win on the night and Madrid advanced with an aggregate score of 6-3.
City talisman Haaland was only fit enough for the bench and was not brought on by Guardiola, which led to Carragher making a bold claim on CBS Sports.
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The former Liverpool man said: "So let me work this out. Haaland has gone to the manager this morning and said he’s not fit? Do you think that has got something to do with Rudiger? Is that because Rudiger is playing?
"He’s on the bench so he can’t be injured. Is it Rudiger-itis? Is that what we’re saying here?"
Pep Guardiola responds to Jamie Carragher's Erling Haaland claims
When asked about those claims ahead of City's Premier League clash against Liverpool, Guardiola replied: "Oh, God. Did he say that? Jamie Carragher said that? Oh God.
"Don’t laugh. I don’t know why he makes that so suspicious. Did he say that Haaland didn’t want to play the game?"
The City boss continued: "It’s not nice - and it’s not true. He (Haaland) was crazy to play the game. He had a problem with his knee and he could not play."
Ahead of the Liverpool match, Guardiola stated that City will make a late call on whether Haaland will be fit enough to return to the starting XI.
He said: "Don't know yet. Tomorrow we will know it but I don't know. It's better to have Erling on the pitch but obviously, we don't have it but of course with Erling we are stronger."
However, defender John Stones could be facing an extended spell on the touchline, Guardiola added: "He's injured, a difficult one. Next hours, days we'll know if he needs surgery or not."
Liverpool have the chance to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to 11 points if they manage to win at the Etihad Stadium.
This comes after Arsenal suffered a shock 1-0 defeat against West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Topics: Pep Guardiola, Jamie Carragher, Erling Haaland, Champions League, Manchester City, Liverpool, Football
Marcus Chan