Star Striker Played With Injury, Reveals Klopp After Liverpool’s 1-0 Win Over Ajax

Jurgen Klopp revealed Sadio Mane played despite suffering from a dead leg and was involved in the lone goal scored in Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Ajax in the 2020-21 Champions League in Amsterdam on Wednesday.

Soon after Mane was subbed at the first-time break, the player was seen putting an ice pack on his leg, attracting injury speculations amid Liverpool’s existing miseries. At the post-match interview, the Liverpool boss assured the injury was a pre-existing issue and Mane was capable of playing through the pain.

“Sadio has since a few days a dead leg and deals with that in that area. That's the only thing why it's still painful but it's not a problem. When he doesn't play, he puts ice on it," Klopp said during the interview.

Mane played a significant part in the first half of the Liverpool-Ajax game, where he scuffed a shot before Ajax defender Nicolas Tagliafico put it past his own goalkeeper after 35 minutes.

In the second half, Klopp made a total of five changes despite boasting a 1-0 lead. He replaced The Reds’ rising star Curtis Jones with skipper Jordan Henderson before he subbed off all the front three players. Xherdan Shaqiri, Takumi Minamino, and Diogo Jota came in for Mane, Roberto Firmino, and Mohamed Salah.

Explaining the five changes he made, Klopp added, "Curtis was tactical. The medical department told us Hendo cannot start and then it was pretty clear 45 should be possible. That's why Hendo came on and then we wanted the experience and a midfield that at least played a few times together, which helps in a game like this. The three upfront, you could see it was an intense game. The defensive transition was really important and if you do that, win the ball, then you have a big chance for the offensive transition."

The German manager also mentioned it was hard for the starting front three, so he was happy to make the five changes.

Earlier, Liverpool suffered a major blow when their key defender Virgil van Dijk was ruled out for an indefinite period due to an ACL injury. The Dutch center-back, who played every single Premier League match last season, is set to undergo surgery on his knee and is expected to miss the remainder of the 2020-21 season. Other center-back Joel Matip also missed the Ajax match because he had complained of discomfort at the end of Liverpool’s previous Premier League match, which was against Everton.