Pundit shares emphatic Sadio Mane claim after what he’s seen at Liverpool
Noel Whelan has claimed Liverpool would not have beaten Everton even if Sadio Mane was still at the club.
The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, insisted Toffees shot-stopper Jordan Pickford was key to nullifying the threat of the Merseysiders.
Liverpool were held 0-0 by rivals Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday (3 September) – meaning they have won just two of their opening six games this term.
Mo Salah has managed just two goals this term, while club-record acquisition Darwin Nunez has only recently returned from a three-match suspension after seeing red for a headbutt against Crystal Palace.
Mane, who scored 120 goals in 269 games for Liverpool, departed for Bayern Munich earlier this summer after a contract standoff with the Merseysiders.
As quoted by talkSPORT (5 September), Football Insider pundit Gabby Agbonlahor insisted “something is missing” in the Reds squad – and claimed Mane’s “brilliance” would have helped break the deadlock against Everton.
Whelan questioned Agbonlahor’s claim – insisting Fabio Carvalho, Harvey Elliott, and Roberto Firmino are worthy replacements.
He told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury: “I think it’s very easy to say that if Mane was in the side then Liverpool would have won the game.
“We don’t know that.
“They’ve made the huge decision, Mane has left – and they’ve brought replacements into the side.
“If it wasn’t for Pickford then it would have been a win for Liverpool – and that’s whether they had Mane in the side or not.
“People are naturally going to start pining after Mane, but they’ve got very good players in the side – Carvalho, Elliott, Firmino.
“I think it was just down to Pickford, nothing else.”
In other news, pundit suggests real reason Andy Robertson axed from Liverpool XI.