Liverpool got their first win of 2017 thanks to a magnificent performance by the team against Tottenham. The difference was Sadio Mane as the Senegalese scored a brace in the first 20 minutes of the game to set the Reds on to victory.
Another player who performed brilliantly was Georginio Wijnaldum and the midfielder was quick to point out that the Merseyside club is not a one-man team led by the brilliant Mane.
While Mane was away on AFCON duty for Senegal, the Reds were knocked out of two cup competitions in January and had even slipped down the league table.
“He is really important but it is too much Sadio Mane now,” the former Newcastle United man was quoted by ESPN about the talk that Mane is the reason why the Reds seem to be getting back on track.
“He scored two goals but also I think it has been about him because we had poor results without Sadio.
“Before he left for Africa we had good results, only against Sunderland [2-2 in Mane’s last game before leaving] we did not have a good result.
“Last week we lost with Sadio Mane. I don’t think it is fair to the other players to say ‘because of Sadio Mane we win.’”
Wijnaldum did, however, state that the former Southampton attacker is a great player and said a similar situation would have arisen had the team played poorly during Philippe Coutinho’s absence.
“Of course he is a great player — he helps us with his speed and he scores goals — but I think it is more about the team than only Sadio Mane.
“It is normal [that] if you have poor results without Sadio everyone will say ‘Sadio Mane.’
“If it was another player like when Phil was injured, if we had poor results then everyone would have said ‘Phil Coutinho.’
“You have to get used to it but I don’t think it is fair.”
Small clubs are big problems for Liverpool
Liverpool have struggled to play against the lower placed sides this season but their performances against the bigger teams has been incredible. Wijnaldum too opened up about this problem with the Reds this season.
“We did it in most of the big games but in other games we didn’t deliver. That was the biggest problem.
“In the first half of the season we did show it against the small teams too but in December and January it wasn’t a good month.
“Against the smaller teams we didn’t deliver. That was a bad thing.”
Support from the manager
While Liverpool slid down the league and suffered an embarrassing defeat in the FA Cup, Klopp declined to pin the blame on the players and supported them throughout the poor month of January, something that Wijnaldum thanked the German for his belief in the squad.
“It is really important because if a manager says the same [as the critics] in the situation we were in it would kill the confidence of the players and that is not a good thing,” added the Dutchman.
“When you are a team you have to believe in each other, you are a kind of family and if one of yours says ‘you’re not good enough’ or what the media has been saying that is not a good thing.
“He believes in us and I don’t think he just said it because he wanted to keep the confidence, I think he truly believes it as well. That gave us a good feeling.”
Liverpool have nearly 15 days off before they next face Leicester City at the King Power stadium. Should they beat the Foxes, the Reds could be in line for a late run to the second position in the league and they might even expel some of the criticism surrounding their inability to beat teams that pack up their defence.
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