Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp believes that his key player Sadio Mane has a mental problem in front of the goal. Klopp has dismissed claims that the Senegalese forward is suffering from burnout.
Mane has failed to score in seven out of the last 8 Liverpool games and saw the Reds suffer a humiliating 3-1 Champions League quarter-final first-leg defeat in the hands of Real Madrid.
The Senegalese has scored 12 goals in 39 appearances for the club across all competition this season, but his poor run started back in October with the player just scoring three times in the last 23 Premier League appearences.
Mane has always been a seasonal performer at Liverpool ever since he joined the club from Southampton. The foward has found himself under pressure in recent games, with Diego Jota even scoring more than him in fewer appearences.
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Klopp has however defendend his player. He said:
“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.
“The schedule over 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 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.
“It’s just the situation. If you don’t 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.”
“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 kind 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.”
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