Jamie Carragher questioned whether Erling Haaland was really injured as Manchester City crashed out of the Champions League on Wednesday.
City travelled to the Bernabeu after a 3-2 defeat to the La Liga giants at the Etihad last week, and crumbled in the second leg, with Kylian Mbappe scoring a brilliant hat-trick to ensure a comfortable 6-3 aggregate win, with Nico Gonzalez scoring late on for Pep Guardiola’s side.
The Premier League champions barely laid a glove on Madrid aside from the consolation, with Erling Haaland staying rooted to the bench throughout after his double in the first leg, having jarred his knee in the win over Newcastle on Saturday.
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Guardiola confirmed ahead of the game that Haaland wasn’t close to starting, but Carragher claimed the striker may simply have not fancied coming up against Antonio Rudiger.
Haaland has fought fierce battles with Rudiger in the past, with the German centre-back returning having missed the opening clash.
“So let me work this out,” Carragher said on CBS Sports. “Haaland has gone to the manager this morning and said he’s not fit?
“Do you think that’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? It’s Rudiger-itis is it? Is that what we’re saying here?”
Ex-Manchester City defender Micah Richards dismissed Carragher’s theory as “nonsense”.
“Look at him, look at his narratives,” he responded. “It’s just nonsense. Come on Jamie, you’re better than that, you’re better than that.”
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January signing Omar Marmoush started up top for Manchester City in Haaland’s absence after he opened his account against Newcastle with a hat-trick.
Reacting to Man City’s team news, ex-Premier League striker Chris Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “It would be really odd if Erling Haaland isn’t either ill or injured.
“He scored both Man City goals in the reverse fixture. It is going to be one of those two things.
“There is no way that for a game of this magnitude Pep Guardiola just leaves him out.”
Former goalkeeper Paul Robinson added: “We certainly weren’t expecting to see a Man City team sheet tonight without Erling Haaland.
“The way that Omar Marmoush played at the weekend against Newcastle, it may not be a bad thing for him to get in the side.
“He is a great replacement for Haaland albeit he is a different type of player. He will run in behind, cause the Real Madrid defence different types of problems.
“We all know what Haaland brings to City though and it is a big blow for them.”
