Football News

Mane strop is proof of Liverpool’s desire to improve, insists Henderson

By Harry Edwards

Published: 20:49, 1 September 2019

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has defended team-mate Sadio Mane after he was shown to be unhappy during the Reds’ win over Burnley.

Jurgen Klopp’s men ensured they went into the international break top of the Premier League with a 3-0 win at Turf Moor courtesy of goals from Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and an own goal from Chris Wood.

What happened with Mane at Turf Moor? Five things to know…

  • Liverpool beat Burnley 3-0 at Turf Moor to continue their perfect start to the Premier League season.
  • Strikes for Mane and Firmino were accompanied by an own goal from Wood.
  • Mane could have got a second in the closing stages but Mohamed Salah opted to shoot rather than pass to his team-mate.
  • The 27-year-old vented his frustration after being substituted, appearing to argue with Liverpool staff on the bench.
  • But Liverpool captain Henderson revealed Mane was laughing and joking upon returning to the dressing room.

But the end of the win was slightly overshadowed by Mane’s reaction to being substituted with five minutes to go. The Senegal forward appeared frustrated after Salah failed to pass to him moments earlier, when Mane was in a prime position to score his second.

However, Liverpool captain Henderson revealed all was well in the dressing room after the game, with Mane laughing and joking about the incident.

“I’ve seen it now and again (from him). Sadio is fine, he’s a great lad,” he told reporters.

“That’s just us pushing each other all the time. I think that’s important. We all want to do better, we all want to improve, but we’re really close and I think we can deal with that.

“I’m not sure (what set him off) to be honest. I couldn’t really understand at first but then when he came in, he was laughing and joking.

“The most important thing was we got the result, Sadio knows that. He performed really well again. Him and Bobby were really big second ball. He had a fantastic game.

“Like I said, we want to push each other. We want to improve all the time, I quite like that now and again. I think we need it.”

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Klopp plays down Mane strop

Henderson was not the only Liverpool representative asked about the Mane incident, with the question also posed to manager Jurgen Klopp.

But the German had no issues with Mane venting his frustration, such is the nature of competitive footballers.

“But it’s good, eh? He was upset, it was obvious,” Klopp told reporters.

“Sadio cannot hide his emotions, I like that. But all sorted. We spoke about it and everything is fine.

“We are individuals, we are emotional. It was a situation in a game. What else could have happened? It was not a phone call.”