Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann has explained how he has played Sadio Mane in his Liverpool position after Jurgen Klopp admitted that the Senegalese forward was “missed” at Anfield.
Mane joined Bayern Munich in a £35.1million agreement from the Reds this summer. The experienced forward pulled the curtain down on six trophy-laden seasons at Anfield after making it clear he wanted a new challenge.
The 30-year-old bagged his 11 th goal for his new club on Saturday despite being foiled from the penalty spot by visiting goalkeeper Robin Zentner. But he reacted quickest to get to the rebound and made no mistake to make it 3-0 for the Bavarian side two minutes before the break.
Bayern eventually ran out 6-2 victors in the tie, with Mane also providing two assists and he is now the highest scorer for Nagelsmann’s side this campaign – with his 11 edging out the 10 scored by each of Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sane.
The Senegalese star hit 120 goals for Liverpool in 269 appearances and collected six major honours during his time in Jurgen Klopp’s side with the Reds struggling to adapt to life without the forward – who proved to be consistently excellent across his Anfield stint.
Nagelsmann said after his side’s 6-2 victory over Mainz on Sunday: "I'm happy with Sadio Mane's performance. The development of the past two weeks was good because of his position. He plays more on the wing where he played at Liverpool before. He did well today, like he did in Barcelona and hopefully will continue this way."
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Mane said in typically honest fashion after Saturday afternoon’s game in Munich: "I'm still not 100% happy with myself. I can do more."
Reds boss Klopp said of Mane on Sky Germany earlier this month: "A good guy and a top player. But missing it sounds like I still want him here. I think it's really okay that Sadio just wanted to do something different.
"Absolutely. I totally respect that. The way it went was great. We knew that he would do something different without breaking up badly. That must be possible in life.
"That's exactly what happened. Missing? Yes! But I'm happy too. That he's where he wanted to be. We'll solve our problems here. Sadio is an outstanding player. Everyone in Munich saw that too. He's absolutely world-class. Everything will be fine."
