Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah and manager Jurgen Klopp are seen tag-teaming Erling Haaland in a wrestling ring and taking the Manchester City centre-forward apart in a 14-second-long clip that surfaced on TikTok.
The clip was from the video game WWE 2K23, a multiplayer video game, the 24th overall installment of the video game series inspired by WWE, and the tenth game under the WWE 2K banner.
Beginning with the Norwegian in the corner seemingly at the mercy of the Egypt captain, the German tactician stood waiting nearby to be tagged in.
Salah then proceeds to pull Haaland into the centre of the ring, doing a shimmy to taunt the bigger player as he gathered his wits.
Clearly wound up, Haaland rushed Salah trying to throw a punch which the diminutive winger ducked under as Klopp entered the ring behind him.
The force of the former Borussia Dortmund striker’s punch carried him all the way into the ropes on the opposite side where his arms got tangled, with Salah grabbing his legs and suspending him in place.
Klopp uses the ropes on the other end to add to his momentum then jump over Salah and onto Haaland, rendering him out of commission in one fell swoop.
It remains to be seen if the pair are as successful at reining in the imperious 23-year-old out on the football pitch, though their track record so far has been terrific.
Liverpool and Manchester City faced each other four times last season, with both teams winning two encounters, the Reds winning the FA Community Shield game 3-1 and the league clash at Anfield 1-0.
Salah found the back of the net once in each of those four games whereas Haaland scored only the opener in the fourth-round EFL Cup tie at the Etihad Stadium, which Pep Guardiola’s side edged 3-2.
The Norwegian did not play in the Citizens’ come-from-behind 4-1 win in the league at the same venue owing to a groin strain, with Julian Alvarez leading the line in his stead.
Guardiola’s charges managed to win the club’s first continental treble, becoming just the second English team to achieve the feat after Manchester United in the 1998-99 season.
Manchester City will look to make history with a record fourth consecutive Premier League crown, with Klopp’s new-look Liverpool hoping to stand in their way once more.
