“I’ll have to interview him more” - Rio Ferdinand salutes ‘world-class’ Liverpool star despite Reds’ defeat at Etihad

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand praised Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah despite the Reds' 4-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester City on Saturday, April 1.

Jurgen Klopp's side were absolutely torn apart by the Cityzens at the Etihad Stadium as the home side came back from a 1-0 deficit to win the game 4-1.

Mohamed Salah gave the Reds the lead in the 17th minute after being set-up by Diogo Jota. Salah came up with an exceptional first-time finish and slotted the ball past a helpless Ederson, for which Rio Ferdinand heaped praise on the Egyptian.

The former Manchester United defender saluted the former AS Roma forward for his wonderful finishing. He said on BT Sport (via The Boot Room):

"This, just wow. Absolutely world class. Nonchalant finishing. I’ll have to interview him more often if he’s going to produce finishing like that!"

Manchester City equalized through Julian Alvarez just 10 minutes later but took the game to a completely different level in the second half. Kevin De Bruyne made it 2-1 for Pep Guardiola's side right after the break before Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish compounded Liverpool's misery.

With victory against the Merseyside giants, Manchester City have reduced the gap to league leaders Arsenal to just five points. Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp's side are now in danger of missing out on a top-four place.

Despite the Reds' struggles this season, Mohamed Salah has now scored 23 goals and provided 11 assists in 40 games across competitions.

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Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish urge Liverpool target to join them at Manchester City

Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish have reportedly urged Liverpool target Jude Bellingham to move to the Etihad. Bellingham played alongside Haaland at Dortmund and is Grealish's teammate in the English national team.

As revealed by journalist Ben Jacobs in his Caught Offside column, Pep Guardiola's side are ready to step up their interest in the 19-year-old English sensation.

In his Caught Offside column, he wrote:

"Liverpool have always been braced for another Premier League rival to seriously enter the race, and Manchester City are now the ones to watch. Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish have both told Bellingham to join."

Jacobs added:

"Bellingham is not necessarily swayed by what friends or teammates think, but every little bit of input only adds to the intrigue over a potential transfer. From what I am told, Bellingham will score his next move quite dispassionately – as Haaland did when he joined Manchester City."

Bellingham has scored 10 goals and provided six assists in 34 games across competitions for Borussia Dortmund this season.