Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit believes that Liverpool’s struggles this season are mainly down to the sale of Sadio Mane.
Following a humiliating 3-0 loss at Brighton last Saturday, Liverpool are now languishing down in ninth in the table, 10 points off the top four.
It has been by far the most difficult campaign for the Reds since Jurgen Klopp’s arrival eight years ago, and if they’re not careful their defence of the FA Cup could be over already.
Liverpool travel to Wolves on Tuesday night for their third-round replay, having ben held to a 2-2 draw at Anfield against a side battling relegation.
There has already been discussion about what has gone wrong for Klopp’s men, with much of the talk surrounding their out of form defenders, fitness issues, lack of midfield energy and poor finishing from the forwards.
But Petit thinks that all these problems can be traced back to the departure of talisman Mane, who had often been cited as Liverpool’s most important and most underrated player prior to his transfer to Bayern Munich last summer.
‘I’ve heard many people say that Liverpool’s midfield has struggled this season, and I agree with that to a certain extent,’ the World Cup winning midfielder told ICE 36.
‘Liverpool have played with such power and energy for five years – they’ve been tremendous – but some players look tired on the pitch and are not delivering the same levels as we’ve seen them before, but I think the main reason Liverpool are not the same is Mane.
‘Since Mane left, Liverpool are not playing the same way. Mane was such an important link between Liverpool’s midfield and attack. He played with so much energy on the pitch.
‘He was decisive and always contributed with goals and assists. He led the Liverpool press and scared defenders when they had the ball. He set the tempo of the team and everyone else followed, Salah did the same job.
‘There was a big rivalry between Salah and Mane and they pushed each other, which helped the team. They used to play with a coordinated press, but that isn’t happening anymore.
‘You could say they look tired, but they shouldn’t have let Mane leave and should have tried to do everything to keep him. They miss his mentality, leadership and of course his ability on the pitch.
‘They have spent so much money on two different types of players up-front in Darwin and Gapko, but for me there is a gap in quality between these two and Mane – he hasn’t been replaced.’
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