Topic: Sadio Mané

[markmywords]

We've been so deprived of proper wingmen that we want to stick him into 9 the minute we got him, cause that's all we know(the older lot have seen much of course).
"He's got pace! Let's stick him up front!"

I guess if you were Henry, Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo's manager, you would have kept them wide, depending on how long their teams had gone without a proper wideman.

Surely it's an older wives tale that says "he has pace, keep him wide"

We have been deprived of a proper forward all season and it is costing us now and will continue to until we fix it, you fix your spine first.

[Schmidt]

Didn't Mane's move to a central position at Southampton result in his longest barren spell of the last few years? Part of what makes his runs in behind so effective is that Firmino drags the central defence around, creating gaps for Mane to exploit. If we move him to a central position then we lose that wide player who can exploit the space effectively as no one else has the pace to do so.

It might be a valid tactic against teams that play a high line against us but how many of those are we going to see between now and the end of the season?

I'm not even sure we need to worry about altering the front three, our biggest problems this season have been caused by players being tired or unavailable, as long as the front three remains fit it should remain unchanged as they generally win us games when played together.

[LallanaInPyjamas]

Didn't Mane's move to a central position at Southampton result in his longest barren spell of the last few years? Part of what makes his runs in behind so effective is that Firmino drags the central defence around, creating gaps for Mane to exploit. If we move him to a central position then we lose that wide player who can exploit the space effectively as no one else has the pace to do so.

It might be a valid tactic against teams that play a high line against us but how many of those are we going to see between now and the end of the season?

Yeah I agree with all this. 20 years ago Mané would have been more of striker in a 4-4-2 than a right midfielder, and we've seen Klopp use him as a lone striker towards the end of games to hit teams on the break, so it's hardly the outlandish suggestion a few in here have tried to paint it as. But I think right wing, particularly in a 4-3-3, is where we'll get the most productivity out of him and it's by and large where he should continue playing.

[markmywords]

I want Mane to continue to play wide, until we get another wideman in.

I just don't want us to start next year with firmino thru the middle. Either Mane starts upfront or we get another proper forward in, for my money.  Mane starting there would probably be easier in terms of squad development

[sonny crockett]

I hope he's alright.

[sms1986]

We have no idea how bad the injury is right now, and he walked off the pitch. For all we know, it looks a lot worse than it might actually be. No panicking just yet.

[lfcthekop]

looked horrible in the replay, hope he's alright

[sms1986]

looked horrible in the replay, hope he's alright

It's probably a good thing that Coutinho seems to be back to his normal self.

[Xabi_14_Alonso]

From someone who had the injury last year, I think Mane has torn his ACL. The way he was able to walk but not run is symptomatic of an ACL injury. I really hope i am wrong though

[sms1986]

From someone who had the injury last year, I think Mane has torn his ACL. The way he was able to walk but not run is symptomatic of an ACL injury. I really hope i am wrong though

If that's the case, I'm glad it didn't happen a few months back but rather at the end of the season with few games left, meaning if he's out for a while, he'll at least be out partly during the summer. I think we have enough goal scorers to cope.

[semit5]

From someone who had the injury last year, I think Mane has torn his ACL. The way he was able to walk but not run is symptomatic of an ACL injury. I really hope i am wrong though

It doesn't look like the knee gets twisted from what I saw. Fingers crossed it's nothing bad but my god it looked awkward. The amount of horrible tackles they've put in today and it's the innocuous one that does the damage.

[sms1986]

It doesn't look like the knee gets twisted from what I saw. Fingers crossed it's nothing bad but my god it looked awkward. The amount of horrible tackles they've put in today and it's the innocuous one that does the damage.

I wonder how long it'll be before we find out?

[Zlen]

Considering our luck this season, if he plays another game in 2016/17 I'll be a happy man.

[sms1986]

Considering our luck this season, if he plays another game in 2016/17 I'll be a happy man.

I would say we've actually been kind of lucky, our bad form and injury problems yet we're not all that far off second place.

[Zlen]

I would say we've actually been kind of lucky, our bad form and injury problems yet we're not all that far off second place.

We worked hard for it, I don't remember many games where we came away with more then we deserved but plenty of those that left me feeling cheated at the end. Hope Sadio recovers soon, we desperately need him.

[Caligula?]

Praying, wishing, and hoping he isn't injured. Fuck it, I'd do some sort of shaman dance if it came to it.

[Redinho]

Looked like an ACL injury, hope I'm wrong  .

[rawcusk8]

Read on Bbc he fell awkwardly and couldnt shake it off, just pray he it's not serious.

[mechinate]

Echo saying it's an ankle injury.

[xbugawugax]

hope its just a precaution.

Knowing we are a goal up and have divock raring to go(and what an introduction). Just playing on the safe side.

[Garnier]

I'll be happily surprised if he's not done his ligaments, didn't even need the replay to confirm how ugly was the way his knee bent.

He's crucial to us and it's all about hope, now. I have seen worse knee twisting/bending amount to nothing, so he could be fine... please

[JackWard33]

From someone who had the injury last year, I think Mane has torn his ACL. The way he was able to walk but not run is symptomatic of an ACL injury. I really hope i am wrong though

Don't think so - think it was his ankle.
(oh and he couldn't actually walk!....or at least barely)

[jooneyisdagod]

Hoping it's not a knee ligament injury. Get well soon Sadio.

[Samie]

it's an ankle injury you fuckers. 

[tubby]

Looked like his ankle, he rolled right over it.

[_Redman]

Sadio Mane taken off with ankle injury during Merseyside derby

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/sadio-mane-taken-ankle-injury-12830562

The Senegal winger suffered the injury during an awkward tangle with Leighton Baines and was replaced by Divock Origi.

The Senegal international had earlier picked up where he left off from his last-gasp match-winner in December's derby by opening the scoring on eight minutes.

However, Mane pulled up after an awkward tangle with Everton left-back Leighton Baines shortly before the hour mark.

The Belgium international wasted little time making his mark as he hammered in Liverpool's third to make it 3-1 after great work Philippe Coutinho, who had earlier scored himself after Matthew Pennington had equalised for the Blues.

It is unclear of the severity of Mane's injury at this stage, but Jurgen Klopp will be hoping the problem doesn't rob him of the £30m winger as they continue their push for a top-four spot with a visit from Bournemouth on Wednesday.

[TepidT2O]

It's clearly his ankle....

I don't reckon it's too bad..

He's a tough little bugger though... they had to drag him off...more like him please

[sms1986]

Good, at least it's not his ACL.

[Ste08]

The only dampener I really hope he's ok

[Caligula?]

Looked very similar to Kane's injury, didn't it?

[JackWard33]

It's clearly his ankle....

I don't reckon it's too bad..

He's a tough little bugger though... they had to drag him off...more like him please

I dunno .....he couldn't put any weight on it at all. Let's hope for a miracle

[Tonyh8su]

Ankle? Really? Looks like an MCL to me. Same happened me a few years back. 4-6 weeks if so. He's hurt anyway so let's see how bad.

[sminp]

Why is it even being questioned?! It was obviously his ankle, the replay was clear as day

[Caligula?]

Ankle? Really? Looks like an MCL to me. Same happened me a few years back. 4-6 weeks if so. He's hurt anyway so let's see how bad.

Did you not see his ankle twist back as he made that challenge?

[pyroparty]

Its a huge blow obviously if its a few weeks or more but still, we play 8 shit teams and probably only need to win 6 of them, lets get it done.

[Butter Keks]

Arguably one of the best players in the league.

[_Redman]

Its a huge blow obviously if its a few weeks or more but still, we play 8 shit teams and probably only need to win 6 of them, lets get it done.

Mane's pace is vital against these type of teams though (makes runs, opens up space etc)

[Miltonred]

The only positive from seeing it, was that Mane was pretty stationary when the incident happened. Usually those ligament twists are much more damaging when it happens at pace.
Fingers crossed, because we've been poor when Mane isn't in the side.

[Upinsmoke]

He's a resilient fella, bit suarez esque I hope in terms of overcoming knocks

[pyroparty]

Mane's pace is vital against these type of teams though (makes runs, opens up space etc)

Yeah its a blow but we still have better players in every single position than every team we'll play till the end of the season.