In the picture above: A handshake gesture left in the air. Liverpool ace Sadio Mane slammed for Jurgen Klopp fury after Man Utd win – ‘Disrespectful’ CREDITS: FOOTBALL DAILY/SKY SPORTS
The manager downplayed a tense incident with his benched winger that occurred after Liverpool’s win over Manchester United
Jurgen Klopp dismissed his post-match clash with Sadio Mane on Thursday as “no problem” and claimed relations between them are “all fine”.
The Liverpool manager attempted a handshake with the winger following a 4-2 win over Manchester United, but Mane shook his head and stormed past him. Mane was kept out of the lineup against the Red Devils in favour of Diogo Jota, who scored the Reds’ first goal of the evening.
Klopp identified poor communication about the benching as the reason for Mane’s anger; he said he failed to properly inform the Senegalese forward of his starting XI decision ahead of time.
What has been said?
“No there’s no problem,” Klopp told BBC Sport. “Yesterday I made a late decision in training to go with Diogo Jota. I would usually explain it but there was no time for that. It is all fine.
“I changed things pretty late in training. My boys are used to me explaining and I didn’t. No time, forgot it, whatever. And that was it. It’s all fine.”
Jota justifies Klopp faith
The Portuguese attacker’s back-heel goal tied the score at 1-1 in the first half and proved a turning point in Liverpool’s eventual victory.
Jota did miss a significant opportunity to put the game away in the second half, striking the post after wriggling clear of Manchester United’s defence, but he nonetheless put in an active shift for the Reds.
Bigger picture
The result was so important for the Reds that not even the dramatic sideshow between Klopp and Mane could overshadow it.
With their victory, Liverpool continued their late-season push for a Champions League position and are now just four points behind Chelsea with a game in hand in the Premier League table. They have just two matches left – against West Brom and Burnley – to try and surpass the Blues or Leicester City, who are also within reach. (GOAL)
