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‘I’ve never seen him as poor’ - Gary Neville singles out star after Man Utd vs Liverpool
MANCHESTER UNITED legend Gary Neville was surprised with the performance of one Liverpool star following Sunday’s clash at Old Trafford.
Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp reflects on Manchester United draw
Liverpool returned to the top of the Premier League table after a goalless draw against their bitter rivals.
But Gary Neville was not impressed with Reds forward Sadio Mane, who had a difficult afternoon.
“Mane, I’ve never seen him as poor in terms of his passing without any pressure on him,” the Sky Sports pundit said.
Neville also questioned the decision by Jurgen Klopp to replace Roberto Firmino with Daniel Sturridge.
Mane, I’ve never seen him as poor in terms of his passing without any pressure on him
Firmino went off injured in the first half and Neville admits he expected Xherdan Shaqiri to come on instead of Sturridge.
“I think Jurgen Klopp set up to be a little bit more pragmatic with the selection of obviously [Jordan] Henderson in midfield and Fabinho,” Neville said.
“I think then the adjustment needs to come when you see Manchester United’s problems in the first half.
“I was surprised by the substitution of Sturridge.
“I thought [Mohamed] Salah would have gone up top and Shaqiri would have come on because he’s the one who can unlock and show that little bit of composure in the final third.
“So I think that was the disappointing thing for Liverpool, the final third play was really poor.”
But Neville believes the one positive for Liverpool is they have kept clean sheets against top opposition in their last two outings.
The Reds prevented Bayern Munich from scoring an away goal in the Champions League last-16 first leg draw at Anfield last Tuesday.
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“I think Liverpool’s big thing, I said before the game, is they’ve got to stop being vulnerable,” he added.
“To get a clean sheet against Bayern Munich and to get a clean sheet at Manchester United away, I think is a big achievement in terms of where they were against Leicester and West Ham, where they looked like they could concede chances.
“So that’s a positive for Liverpool.”
Liverpool are now one point clear of second-placed Manchester City having played the same number of games.
The Reds are back in action on Wednesday when they host Watford at Anfield.
City are at home to West Ham the same evening.