Martin Keown is wondering whether Jurgen Klopp engaged in some “clever” man-management by dropping Sadio Mane for Liverpool’s 4-2 win at Manchester United last night, speaking to talkSPORT (14 May, 10.20am).
We’re used to seeing the Liverpool gaffer embrace his players in the warmest of bear hugs after a victory like that.
So when Mane ignored Klopp’s handshake and stormed off the Old Trafford pitch, shaking his head as he went, you didn’t need Jordan Peterson to tell you something wasn’t quite right in the Anfield camp.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Klopp suggested Mane had been infuriated by his sudden decision to drop the struggling Senegal international in favour of Diogo Jota.
Klopp admitted he failed to tell Mane he wouldn’t be starting a crunch Premier League fixture until just before kick-off.
But, according to Arsenal legend Keown, the Liverpool manager may be using a psychological trick to deliver a proverbial boot up the backside to a player who, in his own words, is enduring the “worst season of my career”.
Keown mused: “For Mane, it was like: ‘I don’t want to show that everything is alright publicly because it isn’t. You didn’t have the respect to speak to me (and tell me I’d been dropped).’
“Maybe it might help the player be a bit more angry, to give a bit more in his performance. It might have been clever from the manager because he’s normally brilliant at that sort of thing.
“I always thought it was nice, respectful, to hear from the manager why they’re going to leave you out of the team rather than just naming the side. It was definitely against what Klopp normally does.
“If you overindulge the players and then you change, that’s how you get a reaction.
“Jurgen Klopp is trying to get something from the player. (Mane) has been disappointing. He said himself he’s had a disastrous season so you want to see some sort of reaction on the pitch – and that’s what you’ll see until the end of the season.”
Klopp’s decision certainly looks like the right one with the benefit of hindsight. The incoming Jota cancelled out Bruno Fernandes’ opener with an impudent backheel, all the while causing United’s shaky back line no end of problems with his exceptional movement in the final third.
Mane, in contrast, squandered one glorious opportunity when he finally came off the bench with 16 minutes remaining.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
