Jurgen Klopp ‘not concerned’ with Sadio Mane’s form
Mane scored seven goals in 27 Premier League games this season and only three in his last 23. In the last eight games, Mane failed to find the back of the net for the Reds.
London: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he is not concerned with striker Sadio Mane’s form despite the Senegal star continues to struggle in front of the goal.
Mane scored seven goals in 27 Premier League games this season and only three in his last 23. In the last eight games, Mane failed to find the back of the net for the Reds. His last goal came in the 3-1 win against Tottenham on January 31.
“We all know how good Sadio Mane is, what a player he is and what he did for us. But obviously, the numbers scoring-wise are not great at the moment and he knows that,” Goal.com quoted Klopp as saying.
“For a player with the mindset of Sadio, he wants to do extremely well. But this is the situation he is in. Each striker in the world knows these kinds of situations. I’m not concerned but I see it as well (that his form isn’t the best), it’s clear. We work on it. It’s the only answer I can give,” he added.
Mane would play his 40th game of the season for Liverpool against Aston Villa on Saturday and has played in 171 of the Reds’ last 188 games in the Premier League and Champions League. Only Andy Robertson, Gini Wijnaldum and Mo Salah have played more minutes than the 28-year-old since the start of last season.
Klopp does not feel that Mane is facing any physical fatigue or something of that sort and added that it is just the situation.
“The schedule over the last three years was for a lot of players in world football a tough one. For him, as well, that is true, but I do not think that is the reason. There is no physical problem for Sadio, not a real one – we all need breaks from time to time, that is clear – but it’s not a general problem,” the manager said.
“It is just the situation. If you do not score for a while, then strikers start thinking. There is a moment when you start thinking exactly the right things again and then it will be fine again. We have to make sure this time is not too far away,” Klopp added.
