In the 85th minute, Sadio Mane was withdrawn from the field by coach Klopp. In the 3-0 crush on Burnley in the 4th round on the evening of August 31, the Senegalese striker doubled the gap and played well from the start of the match. It's just that things are not going well for Liverpool.
Mane immediately took a volunteer attitude as soon as he left the pitch, sat down on the chair and began to express his anger at the previous situations on the pitch.
Those were 2 moments with teammate Mohamed Salah. With Mane in an open position, Salah only needs to assist, Liverpool will score. However, the Egyptian star still shoots in a state of being marked and missing opportunities.
Mane's anger was a consequence of being suppressed for too long. This striker has been known for being gentle and quiet since his time at Southampton. However, this did not happen anymore. Although he scored and Liverpool still won big, it is clear that The Kop fans have reason to worry about the undercurrents in the dressing room.
In Klopp's formation, Salah - Mane - Firmino are still the three strikers. Firmino plays the highest position as a striker, Salah plays on the right and Mane on the opposite wing. However, Salah was placed closer to the opponent's penalty area while Mane sometimes had to withdraw to get the ball back.
That is why Mane often has to start towards the goal from a position further away than Salah. However, he still accepts and always knows how to shine at the right time. The sacrifice, sometimes the foundation for Salah's success, is not difficult for Mane but everything must have its limits.
When Salah was injured and in poor form before Liverpool won the 2018 Champions League, Mane was the one who carried the attack, typically the goals against Bayern Munich. In all indicators, Mane is not inferior to Salah and deserves a similar position in the hearts of fans at Anfield.
Back to Klopp, when he took Mane off, he made a mistake at that moment. The act of replacing Mane made many people understand that it was an unwritten statement at Liverpool, Salah is the number 1 star.
With an experienced and experienced coaching experience like Klopp, he knows how to deal with the ego of big stars, especially in the context of Liverpool still the reigning Champions League champions. On the one hand, Klopp dismantled all rumors. On the other hand, he soothed the relationship between these two stars with smart statements.
"I have got the whole incident. Mane is an emotional person and today he clearly felt unhappy. We then talked and sympathized with each other. All are still friends, friends.
Everyone has emotions. Mane felt unhappy today but in the following days, things would not happen again. Mane does not let his words go beyond the limits, but only shows them through a bit excessive actions.
I know that this incident will become a topic for you to report and then write everything. However, the whole team will have a week off. As it turns out, no one has to read the news about today's event. The week after it started to return, no one remembered it anymore," Klopp shared.
Mane and Salah have problems but through Klopp's sharing, things are not like that. Mane was professional enough and had played football long enough to know which action was right or wrong on the pitch. He was angry with Salah but through Klopp's mouth, everything was just a matter of human emotions.
As for substitutions, Klopp insists he and Mane are still friends. That was enough.
With such a skillful coach, Liverpool hopes to soon stabilize the dressing room to break new records together this season.
