Erling Haaland used a lighthearted interview appearance to poke fun at Jamie Carragher after his match-winning night at the Santiago Bernabéu. Fresh from converting the decisive penalty that sealed a 2–1 victory for Manchester City against Real Madrid, Haaland was asked about the studio mood and took aim at Carragher’s recent on-air exchange involving Mohamed Salah.

Haaland was beamed into the CBS Sports studio and, with a smile, said: “Oh, I’m getting nervous now when I see Jamie Carragher in the studio…” Carragher responded loudly from the set: “You don’t need to be nervous, Erling. Don’t be nervous.” The banter continued when Micah Richards intervened to ask: “Haaland, who do you prefer? [Antonio] Rüdiger or Carragher?”

Haaland reacted with a vocal exhale before answering. “Oof,” City ’s No. 9 said with an exhale of breathe. “I think I need to say Rüdiger now because Carragher is a bit [of a] loose cannon now, so we need to be careful…” Laughter in the studio overtook the final part of his explanation.

The striker’s jocular tone was echoed elsewhere on the night. Speaking to TNT Sports from the pitchside, Haaland reflected on the physical side of the contest, referring to Real Madrid’s defenders. “You could see after one minute Asencio was starting to push me and try to beef with me a lot,” he said, and added: “It’s something I like, personally, I don’t mind it.”

Haaland’s comments arrived after a sequence in which he won the penalty following a tug by Antonio Rüdiger and then calmly converted from the spot to secure the win. The exchanges in the studio and on the touchline underlined Haaland’s relaxed mood after a defining moment at the Bernabéu and produced a rare clip of good-natured ribbing between a player and a well-known pundit.

Manchester City face uncertainty in defence ahead of their Champions League meeting with Real Madrid after Pep Guardiola confirmed John Stones was omitted from the weekend line-up because of injury.

Stones has not been a regular starter in the Premier League this season, with Guardiola generally preferring the pairing of Rúben Dias and Joško Gvardiol at centre back. He remains an important member of the squad and has usually started Champions League fixtures instead. He even captained City in the defeat to Bayer Leverkusen on matchday five.

City sit ninth in the Premier League and require a positive result in Madrid to strengthen their claim for a top-eight league phase finish. Guardiola revealed after the Sunderland game that Stones’ absence was injury-related but provided no timescale for his return. “To be honest, I don’t know,” was the manager’s response when asked to provide a timeframe.

Sunderland was only the second match Stones has missed this season through injury, after he was also ruled out of September’s Manchester derby. The former Everton player missed large portions of last season with foot and hamstring problems and has not been fit for an entire campaign since 2020–21.

Stones has spoken openly in recent months about the mental toll injuries have taken on him. Addressing that struggle during the summer’s FIFA Club World Cup, he said: “It’s difficult when you’re injured,” he told reporters during the summer’s FIFA Club World Cup . “There’s been points where you think, you’ve been giving all this effort, you dedicate all your life, especially how I approach or go about my life, and football, I give everything, on and off the pitch to be here or be ready to play games and those are the dark days.”

In October he told BBC Radio 5 Live he had considered stepping away from the sport: “Last season was tough for me, to the point where I thought about stopping,” he said “I didn’t want to [continue]. I’d had enough of being so professional and trying to do everything right in my power, to then keep breaking down and not having the answers. It was a very difficult place to be in.

Erling Haaland made clear that Manchester City must look inward after a chaotic midweek victory that reduced the gap to Arsenal to two points. The forward, who described his own performance as “not good enough,” was unimpressed by a finish made nervy when Samu Chukwueze’s second running volley in the space of four minutes made it 5–4 with a quarter of an hour remaining.

The result took City to within two points of Arsenal at the Premier League summit before the leaders host Brentford on Wednesday. Upon receiving the Player of the Match award, Haaland was asked about the wider significance for the title race. “Of course, it’s important,” he told Sky Sports . “Arsenal came here and they won as well. So, we know how difficult it is to come here and Fulham is a great team.

“But again, we shouldn’t think too much about Arsenal,” Haaland warned. “We should focus on ourselves, try to improve and avoid things like this happen today, because it’s not good enough and we all know this and we need to improve as a team. That’s what our focus should be.”

Pep Guardiola struck a more upbeat tone after the near collapse. “It only happens in this league,” he giddily told Match of the Day. “We played a fantastic game… Listen, there was some really positive things in what we have done. To come here, to score five goals, and the way we played in that first half.

“In the end it was a question of character, resilience and defence. They did what they had to do.”

The match also provided another milestone for Haaland. After shattering Alan Shearer’s record in the race to a century, it was put to Haaland whether he could eventually surpass the former England captain’s all-time ranking of 260 Premier League goals. “I know about it,” the 25-year-old shrugged, “but I don’t think too much about it.”

If his scoring run continues at close to a goal per game, it would take a little more than four further seasons to reach that mark. City have tied him to a contract that doesn’t expire until 2034. For now, the former Borussia Dortmund frontman was chiefly concerned with the chances he missed against Fulham and with the collective improvements his manager and team demand.