4/10: European media say Liverpool had a player who was practically invisible vs Inter

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European media outlets weren’t kind to one Liverpool player, in particular, vs Inter – Sadio Mané. The winger didn’t have a great game.

Liverpool are through to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Just. It wasn’t exactly easy against Inter and the Reds rode their luck enormously over the two legs.

In all truth, they were fortunate to carry a 2-0 lead from the first leg as the Nerazzurri played very well at home. But a 2-0 lead it was – and Liverpool needed it. A 1-0 defeat at Anfield – their first for over a year – saw them scrape through.

And this wasn’t a good performance. Liverpool had their chances but didn’t take them, while Inter appeared to be back in the tie with a superb Lautaro Martinez goal. Fortunately for Liverpool, Alexis Sanchez killed any momentum by getting sent off immediately after said goal.

Thus Liverpool qualify for the next round on the back of a subpar performance. That was certainly recognised in Europe, who had some meagre ratings for the Reds in various media outlets.

One player caught the criticism more than most, however – Sadio Mané.

Sadio Mané struggles for Liverpool vs Inter

Italian paper Gazzetta Dello Sport, for instance, said Mané was the worst player on the pitch. They gave him a 5/10 – lower than any other player.

French outlet L’Equipe scored the players, too, handing a ‘transparent’ Mané a 4/10. Now, he wasn’t the only player to get that rating (Diogo Jota, Thiago, Joel Matip and Curtis Jones also did) but he arguably had the harshest review.

And in all honesty, Mané wasn’t particularly good. His performance does show the ridiculous nature of player ratings, however.

For one, he should have had an assist. The no.10 put in a fantastically-weighted cross for Mohamed Salah in the second half that the Egyptian crashed against the post. He probably should have scored and he if had, Mané would have been celebrated as the decisive creator here.

Through no fault of his own, the ball didn’t go in. Mané doesn’t get his praise and is instead considered an invisible influence. That hardly seems fair.