Gary Neville Blasts Liverpool Star Sadio Mane for His Performance in Old Trafford Stalemate
Former Manchester United full back Gary Neville has blasted Liverpool forward Sadio Mane for his performance in the 0-0 stalemate with the Red Devils at Old Trafford on Sunday.
In a key clash in race for the Premier League top four and title itself, the two bitter rivals played out a somewhat drab affair in Manchester, with the hosts hampered by three first half injuries and the visitors struggling to string any of their usually slick passing moves together.
And a big part of that difficulty was the ineffectiveness of Sadio Mane, according to Neville. As quoted by the Daily Express, the Sky Sports pundit proclaimed: “Mane, I’ve never seen him as poor in terms of his passing without any pressure on him.”
“I think Jurgen Klopp set up to be a little bit more pragmatic with the selection of obviously [Jordan] Henderson in midfield and Fabinho. I think then the adjustment needs to come when you see Manchester United’s problems in the first half."
The 44-year-old was surprised by Jurgen Klopp's decision making during the game, especially regarding the choice of Daniel Sturridge to replace the injured Roberto Firmino, admitting: “I was surprised by the substitution of Sturridge. I thought [Mohamed] Salah would have gone up top and [Xherdan] Shaqiri would have come on because he’s the one who can unlock and show that little bit of composure in the final third.
“So I think that was the disappointing thing for Liverpool, the final third play was really poor.”
However he did acknowledge there was a big plus for the Reds, adding: “I think Liverpool’s big thing, I said before the game, is they’ve got to stop being vulnerable.”
“To get a clean sheet against Bayern Munich and to get a clean sheet at Manchester United away, I think is a big achievement in terms of where they were against Leicester and West Ham, where they looked like they could concede chances.
“So that’s a positive for Liverpool.”