Ox takes his place.
Sadio Mané was a vitally important cog in Liverpool’s team last season.
Without him, they struggled to penetrate teams due to a lack of pace throughout the team. He offered something that other players didn’t.
This season though, he has not been able to find the same form. With the arrival of Mohamed Salah from Roma, the Reds are less reliant on the Senegalese winger. Salah has taken on the goalscoring responsibility and is currently second in the race for the Golden Boot after Harry Kane’s hat-trick this afternoon.
Whether it’s a consequence of the team playing more through Salah, Mané having to be switched to the opposite wing or simply a run of bad form, Mané has not been playing with the same spark.
He has been dropped to the bench a few times in recent weeks, which surprised Liverpool fans initially, especially as Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has taken his place in the side, was really struggling to hit his stride in a Liverpool shirt.
‘The Ox’ has since improved and despite starting against Arsenal, Mané has been dropped again. Coutinho will start wide left in his place, with Oxlade-Chamberlain taking one of the three central midfield positions. This time, the fans seem pleased with Jurgen Klopp’s decision to opt for Oxlade-Chamberlain over Mané.
Mane dropped after that shocking performance against Arsenal, good team out from Klopp! #LIVSWA
— 6 🇵🇸 (@kop6_) December 26, 2017
https://twitter.com/JustFirmino/status/945693735567884288
https://twitter.com/veto50/status/945693903562428416
Mane dropped. Good decision, maybe that will kick some sense into him.
— Oluwajoba (@olumcjobson) December 26, 2017
Mane dropped, life is good
— rodri (@drezzyinho) December 26, 2017
How times change. Mané has got work to do if he wants to re-establish himself as an indispensable part of this Liverpool team.
