Garth Crooks has written on BBC Sport that Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp should not have started Sadio Mane against Burnley.
Liverpool got the better of Burnley 1-0 away from home at Turf Moor in the Premier League on Sunday.
Mane – who cost the Reds £34 million player (BBC Sport) – started the match along with Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah.
The Senegal international forward returned to England just a few days ago after winning the Africa Cup of Nations.
Salah played against Mane in the final for Egypt.
Crooks wrote on BBC Sport: “Why Sadio Mane started this game, so soon after his exploits in the Africa Cup of Nations, is a mystery to me, especially as Diogo Jota is in such good form. If anyone needs a break Mane does.”
The BBC Sport pundit added: “Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah, followed shortly afterwards by Sadio Mane, comes back from the Africa Cup of Nations final and is immediately placed on the bench against Leicester City, and both are in the starting line-up to face Burnley three days later – a great break!
“I don’t blame Mane in the slightest taking his time returning from Dakar after Senegal’s first Nations Cup triumph. Salah and Mane actually deserve a winter break.”
Why did Sadio Mane start for Liverpool?
Now, it may be a mystery to BBC Sport and former Tottenham Hotspur forward Crooks why Mane started for Liverpool, but we know why.
Liverpool manager Klopp told the club’s official website that he did not plan to include Mane in the starting lineup.
But he had to as Diogo Jota had a dead leg and could not train on Saturday.
In terms of Mane – and Salah – having a break, yes, we agree.
Ideally, both the players should have had a few more days off.
But Liverpool are aiming to win the Premier League title and the Champions League this season.
So, in our view, giving Mane and Salah an extended break now could prove to be costly.
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