Once Sadio Mane got sent off, things went very south for Liverpool. The Reds got absolutely thrashed 5-0 at Manchester City today, with the match becoming a total laugher once the Senegalese winger earned a straight red card and the Reds had to play more than half the match down a man. Up until that point, it was a tightly contested, very competitive match.
Take a look at this very high tackle, though. It was an extremely frightening play, as Mane ended up kicking Ederson in the face, with the studs of his cleats out:
Mane lucky to get a red card instead of an Attempted Murder charge. pic.twitter.com/8NDpqppCt0
— ??? (@ChelseaDyl) September 9, 2017
Let’s just hope that Ederson is okay, as this led to his being stretchered off, and somber scenes at The Etihad. There has been some debate about whether or not this was deserving of a red card, with both Gary Neville and Gary Lineker claiming that the decision was wrong.
Jamie Carrager, however, believed it was the right call: “It’s a red card. I didn’t think it was, I needed replays, but the boot in face says it all.”
The dangerous incident ended up changing the entire complexion of the game, and the final scoreline of 5-0 marks the worst defeat for Jurgen Klopp, ever.
A Klopp led Borussia Dortmund side once lost 5-1 to Louis van Gaal’s Bayern Munich, marking the previous low point prior to today. Man City outshot the Reds 13-7, with a 10-3 advantage in shots on goal. City also won possession 67-33% and Liverpool, already without Philippe Coutinho, turned into full on LOLiverpool mode as they were then missing Sadio Mane as well.
Being down a man for 55 minutes, Liverpool mentally checked out early, to then focus on Champions League competition in midweek. They were bad today, but nowhere near as bad as the optics suggest. Going from 4-0 winners to 5-0 losers the very next game is dramatic and eye-popping, but the sky is not falling.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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