Mohamed Salah does “want to score more than Sadio Mane” at Liverpool, admits Dejan Lovren, but their rivalry is friendly and “different” to the picture painted by some outside of Anfield.
Questions have been asked of whether the two superstar forwards are on the same page. Both are eager to contribute as much as possible to the Reds cause, with their respective goalscoring records playing key roles in the success that has been enjoyed by Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Salah has faced accusations of being self-centred on the field throughout his spell on Merseyside. Mane took to airing his frustration during an infamous outing at Burnley in August 2019, although those at Liverpool were quick to sweep reports of an internal rift under the carpet.
Lovren insists the emotions seen that day are merely part of professional football, with in-house battles to be found at just about every team on the planet.
Lovren, who struck up a close bond with Egyptian forward Salah during his time at Anfield, told KingFut of the supposed rivalry: “I see it in a different way.
“It is good to have competition between players. It is normal, Salah wants to score more than Mane, and this is football. If both players are in good form, then it serves the team well and that’s the most important thing.
“When Salah doesn’t score in a game, he doesn’t blame Mane for not scoring. Instead, he focuses on his mistakes to improve for the next game.”
Lovren will now be keeping an eye on Salah and Mane from afar, with the experienced Croatian defender having sealed a summer switch to Russian giants Zenit.
Those he has left behind in England are determined to build on the solid foundations that they have constructed, with the reigning Premier League champions now aware of their schedule for the 2020-21 campaign.
Salah and Mane will be expected to be prominent figures for Klopp’s side once again, with the former having netted 94 times through 152 appearances for Liverpool while the latter has 81 goals from 170 outings.
Lovren was a fringe player in Liverpool's title triumph, making just 10 league appearances in 2019-20 before departing for Russia.