Mane: Wenger links Liverpool struggle to Senegalese's exit – ‘Reds missing something they had before’
- Reds are struggling this season
- Wenger links slow start to Mane's exit
- He says Liverpool are less efficient
WHAT HAPPENED? Liverpool have had a slow start to the season and their struggles were evident when they shared the points against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.
They went down 2-0 in the first 20 minutes before they eventually shared the spoils from a 3-3 draw.
"It's difficult to understand," Wenger told beIN Sports as quoted by The Guardian. "They have the same core [group of players], same type of game.
"They are less efficient in winning the ball back than before. [Darwin] Nunez, at the moment, hasn't worked out for them and they've made a big investment. He's sitting on the bench.
"They lost Mane, who was a top-level, big-game player. He had something [about him], an aggressive attitude and determination. He'd score no matter what happens, he'd make things happen.
"It's difficult to measure how much [his departure] takes away. They miss something they had before."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Out of a possible 21 points, Jurgen Klopp’s side has just collected 10 of them. The Reds have drawn in four games and lost to Manchester United early in August in a season in which they look like a pale shadow of their former selves.
In the Champions League, they suffered a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Napoli before a later 2-1 victory against the other group stage opponents, Ajax.
Meanwhile, Mane has netted six goals in 12 appearances for Bayern Munich since he left Anfield.
The Senegal star left the Reds – a side he scored 120 goals for in 269 appearances and collected six major honours with – after six years, and his replacement, Nunez, does not look perfectly settled so far.
WHAT IS MORE FOR LIVERPOOL: They sit ninth on the table with and face tricky Premier League fixtures against Arsenal and Manchester City next. Two Champions League fixtures against Rangers are sandwiched between those to Premier League clashes