Jurgen Klopp was forced to change his starting line-up for the game against Burnley. The Liverpool manager admitted after the match that due to a dead leg the day before, Diogo Jota was unable to train.
This meant that Sadio Mane started instead of the Portuguese. It made little difference on the day as Liverpool ran out 1-0 winners of a tight affair. But it could have consequences for who Klopp picks against Inter Milan on Wednesday night.
Mane thrown straight in
Klopp was pleased with how Mane performed in Jota’s absence.
“Sad played really, really well. As I said before, it was not the plan to start him today because we know how intense everything was, but Diogo had a dead leg and couldn’t train yesterday, so we started Sadio,” Klopp told reporters via liverpoolfc.com
“He (Mane) worked incredibly hard and that’s exactly what we expected.”
But given the “intense” nature of the last month or so for Mane, it sounds like the manager would ideally have rested his AFCON winner at the weekend.
Diaz gets his chance
Klopp also said that the plan had always been to shield Diaz from the potentially awkward trip to play Sean Dyche’s team.
“Luis has adapted really well but this is a completely different game, like a ‘Welcome to the Premier League’, so we didn’t want to try it if we didn’t need it so that’s why we started like we started,” said Klopp.
From that point of view, Diaz wasn’t being rested for the big game mid-week. But due to Mane getting more minutes than intended, the 25-year-old Colombian should be the one to start at San Siro.
Mane has been a trusted source of goals in these games in the past. He scored in every knockout round as The Reds reached the final in 2018. He also scored a famous double away to Bayern Munich at this stage of the competition in 2019.
But he has to be managed carefully after his energy sapping exploits in Cameroon. Now that Liverpool have the pocket-rocket Diaz to step in for him, he can be rested safe in the knowledge that he is being covered for effectively.
Besides, Diaz isn’t new to this competition. He even scored in San Siro back in November as Porto drew 1-1 with AC Milan in the group stage.
Upon signing for Liverpool, Diaz was called a “fantastic player” by Braga boss Carlos Carvalhal via The Daily Mail.
He will be desperate to prove his worth to his new team on one of the biggest stages in football.
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