German legend Oliver Kahn has opened up about Sadio Mane’s below-par form in Bayern Munich colours. Speaking to Sky Germany, Kahn, who serves as Bayern’s chief executive officer, underlined the internal competition for places in the squad, which has perhaps affected Mane’s performance.
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Although, the legendary goalkeeper appeared to be hopeful about Mane making an explosive comeback when he gets adjusted to Bayern’s cut-throat environment.
“Mane is a player who needs a lot of encouragement. He is not used to this type of competition for places we have here in Bayern. It was not like that in Liverpool,” Kahn said, as quoted by the Athletic.
Sadio Mane parted ways with Liverpool last summer, shifting his base to Germany. The Senegal International enjoyed tremendous form with the Premier League powerhouse, making a deadly attacking trio with Roberto Firmino and Mohammad Salah. He also played a crucial role in the Reds’ Champions League triumph in 2019 and the league title in the subsequent year.
Coming to the Allianz Arena, Mane pulled off a roaring start to his new career, scoring a goal in Bayern Munich’s dominating 5-3 win over RB Leipzig in the DFL Supercup final. Mane then netted six goals for the Bundesliga giants before picking up an unfortunate injury ahead of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. He failed to represent Senegal in the marquee tournament owing to the inflammation of the fibula head on his right leg.
Mane returned to the football pitch in late February but is still quite far from his devastating best. He has not netted a single goal since October last year. Former Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann preferred Mane to play along the left wing in a flexible 4-4-2 formation. But the position was not usual for the 31-year-old forward, who was accustomed to a different role at Liverpool, operating from the deep.
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Newly appointed manager Thomas Tuchel, who has replaced Nugelsmann, positioned Mane behind a lone striker in Bayern’s 1-0 away win over Freiburg in a Bundesliga fixture. The plan clicked well with Mane registering the highest number of intensive sprints among his teammates.
He was ignored in the starting lineup in Bayern’s first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City on Wednesday. Mane was subbed in the 69th minute, replacing Jamal Musiala but could not make any impression with the German club suffering a 3-0 defeat.
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