Amid Liverpool’s struggle to find their best form this season, Jurgen Klopp has claimed that they also played badly when they had Sadio Mane in the team.
The Senegal forward had scored 120 goals and registered 49 assists in 269 appearances for The Reds before leaving for Bayern Munich in June of this year.
Since Mane left, Klopp’s side have struggled to get their campaign on a consistent winning track, but the German tactician has played down suggestions the attacker's departure led to their poor form.
"Sadio is a world-class player. It was always clear that we were going to miss him. But this is not our problem now. Unfortunately, we also played bad games with Sadio. Not ‘so’ bad, but bad," Klopp told TV 2 as quoted by Anfield Watch.
"I especially understand that the Liverpool fans want to discuss it, want solutions and things like that. But trust me, we have worked on solutions, and now we have the opportunity to show that we have understood it, and that we will react."
Next Match
Even with Mane’s exit, Klopp has an incredible array of attacking talent at his disposal with the German able to call on the likes of Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, and Roberto Firmino.
And with this weekend's Premier League match against Chelsea postponed, Liverpool will only return to action on October 1 to face Brighton & Albion, giving Klopp ample time to work on The Reds form on the training ground.
Their 2-1 win on Wednesday night – with goals from Mohamed Salah and Joel Matip - over Ajax in the Champions League should also help boost their morale before their return to action.
