Liverpool

Liverpool: David Lynch says Sadio Mane’s position under threat

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Image for Liverpool: David Lynch says Sadio Mane’s position under threat

Sadio Mane is facing the prospect of being dropped to the Liverpool bench amid his struggles form, according to Reds journalist David Lynch.

Lynch was speaking on Friday’s episode of the Blood Red podcast.

Mane has only scored one Premier League goal in 2021, netting in the 3-1 win over Spurs at the end of January.

The Senegalese international has netted a total of seven in the top flight this season, one fewer than Diogo Jota, who missed 82 days of action with a knee injury.

It was another ‘night to forget’ for Mane in midweek, club correspondent James Pearce noted, as Liverpool were convincingly beaten by Real Madrid.

‘Difficult choice’ for Klopp

And Lynch is unsure whether Mane deserves to keep his place when Liverpool seek to overturn the 3-1 deficit come Wednesday.

“Going into the second leg, I think there’s a difficult choice for Jurgen Klopp to make off the back of that performance from Sadio Mane,” he said.

“When Jota is flying in the way he is, we clearly missed Firmino on both sides of the ball, we can’t drop Salah, I think Mane’s position might be under threat in the coming weeks.

“Mane’s form at the moment just isn’t good enough to be getting game after game.”

‘Firmino’s form has taken heat off Mane’

Lynch also reckons that Roberto Firmino’s woes have spared Mane some criticism.

The Brazilian has managed only six goals (half of Mane’s overall tally) in 39 appearances across all competitions.

“It’s quite worrying because this has stretched over quite a long period of time,” he said.

“Firmino’s form has taken a little bit of the heat off him. Mane has been through a lot of lengthy goalless stretches throughout this season.

“Is that burnout from the amount of football he’s played over the years?”

Will Mane be dropped?

Liverpool’s next assignment is the visit of Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.

The Reds are looking to halt an unprecedented run of six consecutive home defeats.

Firmino was not introduced until the 81st minute against Madrid, and may well be recalled to freshen things up.

Mane, who tested positive for Covid-19 in October, has featured in all but five of Liverpool’s matches in 2020/21 and may well benefit from a rest. However, dropping Mane for any upcoming game could be a huge call to make, as the attacker has participated towards a goal in 25% of the club’s Premier League games and has three goals and assist to his name in the Champions League up until this point.

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