Liverpool forward Sadio Mane began the 1-1 draw with Chelsea this past weekend on the bench, and when he came on in the later stages of the contest, he was observed having a memorable conversation with LFC manager Jurgen Klopp. This led to speculation that Mane and Klopp were feuding about something during the course of the game.
Sadio Mane has said that’s just fake news, telling Sky Sports in an interview on Monday:
“He asked me to play on the right side and one time I tried to ask for the ball in the No. 9 position.”
It was just about tactics, and not an argument.
“Mo [Salah] was on my side and the coach was shouting, ‘Sadio come onto the right side.’ After the game I told the coach it was easier if you told Mo to come in because he was close to you, but it was friendly, it was not because I was unhappy or something else,” the Senegalese winger said.
“There was no problem, I was just communicating and explaining that to him after the game.”
So there you go- apparently the reports of conflict between the player and his coach were all much ado about nothing. Up next for Liverpool are two Premier League road fixtures, at Stoke City tomorrow night and then a visit to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune corporation blogging community Chicago Now.
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