German coach Juergen Klopp expressed his anger at Atlético
Madrid’s “twisted” methods, which forced him to take out his
Liverpool star, Sadio Mane, between the two halves, during the
European Champions League confrontation on Tuesday evening.
And Senegalese club Sadio Mane was knocked out of the Liverpool
and Atletico Madrid match between the two halves, despite the
team’s 1-0 delay, a result that ended in the first leg of the
Champions League round of 16.
The club said after the meeting: “It was clear that they wanted to get
Sadio (Mane) out of the match by forcing him to get a second yellow
card. These methods are part of football and I don’t like that.”
Mane had secured a first yellow card in the 40th minute, after using
the attached device against Atletico Madrid defender Simi Fersalco.
Klopp added: “I brought Mane out because I was afraid that the
opponent’s players would fall to the ground if Mane breathed near
them,” referring to the opponent’s attempts to represent in
confrontations with his opponent’s players, with the aim of
influencing the referee.
Liverpool lost a large part of its offensive strength after Mane’s exit,
and he was unable to create real opportunities for the Atletico goal
during the match.
The German coach, Belgian striker Divock Origuei included an
alternative to Mane, but the latter could not break through the tight
Spanish defense.
Liverpool will face rival Atletico Madrid in the return leg at Anfield,
on March 11.
