Mohamed Salah hit back at Jamie Carragher’s ‘selfish’ jibe after Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday.
The 32-year-old had faced criticism from the Reds icon after publicly addressing his future ahead of Liverpool’s midweek clash with Real Madrid.
Carragher had labelled Salah “selfish” for shifting focus onto himself during a critical period of big fixtures for the club.
But Salah wasn’t about to let those remarks slide during his post-match interview with Sky Sports after he scored to help send his side nine points clear at the top of the table.
He appeared alongside teammate Virgil van Dijk, with the Dutch defender having to decide who should be named as the man of the match between himself and Salah following debate amongst the Sky panel.
He instantly awarded it to Salah, before being told that Gary Neville had also given the Egyptian the nod over the ex-Southampton star.
Smiling, Van Dijk joked: “I’m surprised Carragher wouldn’t give it to you.”
Salah then laughed, where he replied: “Oh, he wouldn’t. Never. He wouldn’t give it to me! I don’t want to talk about this!”
Van Dijk then insisted, ‘We don’t listen to any of that’, in reference to any outside noise from pundits regarding Liverpool.
Moments later, Sky Sports presenter David Jones sought Carragher’s reaction to Salah’s playful jab.
The 46-year-old responded with a cheeky dig of his own, referencing Roy Keane’s recent altercation with an Ipswich fan.
He quipped that he’d meet Salah ‘in the car park’ to settle their differences.
Carragher’s initial criticism stemmed from Salah revealing he has yet to be offered a new deal by Liverpool with his contract to expire next summer.
Having his say on his comments, Carragher remarked: “I must say I am very disappointed with Salah.
“That interview [after win at Southampton], Liverpool have got Real Madrid midweek and they’ve got Manchester City at the weekend. That’s the story for Liverpool right now.”
But Salah’s comments about his future failed to have an impact on Liverpool, who eased to 2-0 victories over both Madrid and City.
Their victory over the Citizens has put Liverpool nine points clear at the top of the table and has extended their lead over Pep Guardiola’s men to 11 points.
The Egyptian forward played a pivotal role in the win, assisting Cody Gakpo‘s 12th minute opener before converting a late penalty to seal the result.
Arsenal and Chelsea are tied on 25 points in second and third in the table, respectively.
City now sit in fifth, level on points with fourth-placed Brighton (23).
After the City match, Salah addressed his remarks about his future once more, expressing his desire to savour what could potentially be his final Anfield clash against their title rivals.
He said: “Honestly it’s in my head. Until now, this is the last City game I will play for Liverpool so I was just going to enjoy it.
“The atmosphere was incredible so I will enjoy every second here. Hopefully we just win the league and will see what will happen.”