Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Sadio Mane’s angry retaliation after being substituted wasn’t down to the fact that he’d just been removed from the game.
The Senegalese international kicked off after being taken off, but it appeared as if the star was irked by Mo Salah’s decision to go alone and try to score instead of trying to set up his pal.
Mane was comforted by Bobby Firmino, James Milner and Joe Gomez when he sat himself down on the bench, and was later handed a bottle of water by Klopp.
“Sadio Mane is an emotional guy, we are all individuals,” said Klopp to Sky Sports – via the Mirror. “Something went not like he wanted, it is not the substitution. We will clarify it in the dressing room.”
The German boss kept it short and sweet, but even just these few sentences will help ease Liverpool fan’s fears of a changing room bust up.
Klopp went on to praise his side’s performance at Turf Moor, as the Reds ran out 3-0 winners against Burnley. “We were brilliant, there were so many 50/50 situations because of the long balls but we played early balls in behind as well,” he said.
“In moments we played really, really good football. Everything was there. We were a bit lucky with the first goal but we forced that situation. We controlled the game as much as you can.
“Wood and Barnes fight so hard for these balls, and we defended it really well. We were aggressive but gave away no fouls, we worked our socks off.
“Burnley play football as well, we had opportunities to score on the counter attack, you have to prepare the trigger. This sort of a game is a real challenge for our concentration. You have to be ready.”
The boss is clearly thrilled with the performance his team put in against Burnley, but chose to keep his lips firm over the Mane/Salah disagreement.
The two lads are world-class talents, and are hungry for success. Hopefully we’ll learn more in the coming days.