Liverpool face Aston Villa in the Premier League this weekend and there has been a buzz that Sadio Mane could be dropped from the starting line-up on Saturday.
Mane has been one of the top players for Liverpool over the past couple of seasons but the forward has been really average this season, scoring just 12 goals in 39 games across all competitions.
The last time he found the back of the net in the league was against Spurs in the month of January and due to his poor form, some people feel Jurgen Klopp is likely to send him a warning signal this weekend.
But when the manager was asked about Mane’s poor form and possible exhaustion, Klopp chose to firmly stand behind his forward, hinting that Sadio Mane will get back his form eventually.
He said in his pre-match press conference: “We all know how good Sadio Mane is, what a player he is. And what he did for us. Obviously the numbers, scoring-wise now, are obviously not great in the moment – he knows that.
“It’s always for a player and for a player with the mindset of Sadio, he wants to do extremely well then in these moments and that’s the situation he is in. Each striker in the world knows these kinds of situations.
“But I’m not concerned, but I see it as well. That’s clear. We work on it – that’s the only answer I can give. The schedule of the last three years was for a lot of players in world football a tough one – for him as well, that’s true.
“But I don’t think that’s the reason, there’s no physical problem for Sadio, not a real one. We all need breaks from time to time, that’s clear, but it’s not a general problem or whatever. It’s just a situation.
“If you don’t score for a while then strikers start thinking and 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.”
Jurgen Klopp will be really keen to rest Sadio Mane this weekend with a key second-leg game vs Real Madrid coming up next week. But with a possible Champions League position also at stake, the manager just cannot take this gamble.
So, despite all these talks about Mane being out of form, the Liverpool boss has no option but to put his faith in the 28-year-old coming good against Aston Villa.
