Jurgen Klopp explains Sadio Mane’s anger following substitution

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he knew why Sadio Mane was angry following his substitution in yesterday’s match against Burnley

The Senegalese winger scored the Reds’ second goal in the 37th minute which was his second of the Premier League and his fourth of the season. Mane was replaced in the 85th minute by Divock Origi and seemed furious about something while James Milner and Roberto Firmino were trying to calm him down.

SEE MORE: Video: Roberto Firmino shows his importance to the team as he comforts Mane

It seemed that the 27-year-old was angry with teammate Mo Salah for not passing the ball to him and instead, taking a shot on goal. Giving the ball to Mane would have been a better option as he was in a very good position to score.

Following the match, Klopp said that he knew why the Senegalese international was angry but didn’t mention it. He did say that things are ok now. Speaking to the club’s official website, the Liverpool manager said: “I know [what it was about]. He was upset, that was obvious. You cannot hide his emotions like that. We spoke about it, everything is fine. We are individuals, we are emotional. It was a situation in a game obviously, what else could happen?

“It’s not a phone call. It was a situation in the game he wasn’t happy about and then that’s completely fine. Would he do it in exactly the same manner again? Probably not, but it happens. Nothing happened, he didn’t say any wrong words, it just looked a little bit different [to] how he looks usually.

“Of course, I can understand that it’s a little story. Thank God we are now away for a week, so if you write something about it, we will not read it anyway. And after a week, nobody can remember anymore, so it’s a really cool moment to do it. But it is all good really, all fine.”

Salah seemed a little selfish on the pitch yesterday as he more than often preferred taking a shot himself rather than passing to his teammates. Mane and Firmino both could’ve ended up with two goals each had the Egyptian passed the ball to them on certain occasions.

With the international break coming up, Liverpool’s next match will be on the 14th against Newcastle United at Anfield. The Reds haven’t lost a league game to the Magpies on their home turf since 1994 and will be hoping to maintain that record.

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