Chris Kamara offered a self-proclaimed different take on Sadio Mane’s reaction to being subbed off during Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Burnley on Saturday.
The Reds forward appeared to be fuming upon exiting the pitch in the 85th minute of Liverpool’s clash with the Clarets when being replaced by Divock Origi.
Kamara shared that he thought Mane only reacted angrily to being subbed due to Mohamed Salah not passing him in the ball when he was in space moments earlier, and the Sky Sports presenter implied he was impressed by the passion shown by Mane.
“Well y’know me, I’ve got a different take on this Alex (Scott) y’know that,” said Kamara on Goals on Sunday (Sky Sports Premier League, 11:42am, Sunday, September 1st).
“And the reason why I’ve got a different take on this is because I think he is disappointed he didn’t get the goal, so just watch it now, there’s Salah and he’s thinking play me in, play me in and I’ve got my second goal, but he has another touch and takes it away.
“And he’s looking towards him saying ‘why didn’t you pass?’ and a minute later the manager takes him off.
“So I still think he is angry, he could have given me that ball, he could have passed it to me, and that’s what you wanna see from your players.”
OPINION
It’s unclear why Kamara thinks his opinion on Mane’s outburst on Saturday is different as most believe that it was a result of Salah not passing him in the ball. In fact, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp confirmed as much after the game. The Reds boss told reporters that Mane’s reaction was not a result of being substituted and stated that the striker’s fury was a result of Salah not passing to him but made clear everything was “clarified” in the dressing room (Source: Metro UK). Arguably the only different thing about Kamara’s opinion is that he wants to see that sort of anger from players and implies it’s a good thing for managers to see. While that makes sense to some degree as Mane clearly is passionate and you want passionate players, Klopp now has to deal with the media circus and that must be frustrating. The only lucky thing for the Reds boss is that the clash with Burnley was Liverpool’s last game before the international break, so the press may get distracted.
