Sadio Mané left Liverpool, but it was immediately thought that it would not affect, but Klopp's team is not working. The Senegalese's importance was too great, and at the moment the team is limping along.
He not only contributed offensively, but also defensively and tactically. He moved all over the attacking line and became the perfect partner for Mohamed Salah, who at the moment looks very lonely and without an idea on the pitch.
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Mane's contribution
The level he was at was second only perhaps to Karim Benzema, his contribution to Klopp's team was so much. His work ethic was almost unmatched by any player, and he didn't mind getting his uniform dirty for the good of the team.
His position in the tactical set-up was as a left-winger, but far from being a player who just dribbles and crosses. He was a natural organiser in the German coach's scheme because of his diagonals to the centre and his speed.
Besides, his way of thinking with the ball at his feet made Mohamed Salah shine more, as he was the one who ended up scoring the goals. With Liverpool, he provided 49 assists and that speaks of his ability to be a team player.
Sixty per cent of the Reds' offensive actions came through the feet of the African, who on some occasions ended up playing as a nine-footer, coming out of the box and losing his role for the good of the team.
Football people know and appreciate the unselfish style of play of the Senegal player. He puts the team first before the individual, and that made him very important.
The partnership he had with Salah was important for the team. Salah is not such a self-sacrificing player, and so Mane did what the Egyptian didn't do, he finished the play with his great attacking ability.
Besides, the Pharaoh is not a creative player, he is a finishing player. That's why they complemented each other so well.
He also found a perfect partner with Luis Diaz and at the time with Roberto Firmino, as they occupied Mane's area when he went out to generate play from the middle of the pitch. Another aspect is his leadership.
His way of being kept the dressing room together. The perfect example is that he never complained when Salah was renewed first and waited for the perfect moment to announce that he was leaving the team so as not to create any instability in the dressing room.
All this added up to the African being one of the most important parts of Jürgen Klopp's squad, who never thought his departure would be so sensitive.
What they lose
When Mane left the first thing that was done was to look for his substitute, and they opted for the Uruguayan Darwin Nuñez who is a great player and proved it in the last season with Benfica.
Darwin is a natural "9" who is a perfect striker and has a great goal. He is not unfamiliar with wings, but it is not his main position, he does it well but with Luis Diaz and Salah it is difficult for him to finish on the flanks.
The Charrúa is a great player, but he is far from being what the African was in terms of generating play. During the pre-season, it was clear that he is not yet in the rhythm of the team's play, as he declared that after 15 minutes he was short of breath and could not breathe.
In the last few league games, it is noticeable that he is struggling to cope with the tight English marking, and even ended up being sent off because he did not hold the mark of the Crystal Palace defence. He lacks that maturity in the Premier League that Mane had dominated.
Besides, Darwin does not have that level of generation that the African had and that isolates the Egyptian Mohamed Salah who is not participating as much in the game because the football does not reach him. Nunez is more of a finisher and not a generator, and that will be hard for Liverpool to recover.
Luis Diaz can generate, but ends up very isolated from the game because of his position. He plays on the wing and has to make very long runs to get involved and link up with Salah, so the team in attack is broken.
The dressing room is not broken, on the contrary the team is united, but there is no footballing cohesion. The Uruguayan is finding it hard to get along with Salah and Diaz, and that is going to take its toll on Liverpool, who could lose important points in the race for the Premier League.
Mane's departure was traumatic, especially as it was not expected. The Senegalese put up with the disdain of his manager and the African Cup and behaved like a professional, but he no longer wanted to be there.
Liverpool loses perhaps the second-best player in the world by prioritising the renewal of Mohamed Salah, who became one of the highest paid in the league and at Liverpool.
What was not seen in the sporting intelligence is that Salah does not function 100% without the Senegalese, with whom he had a great understanding. The Egyptian is a great player, but you took away his source of balls and offensive actions,
In the last few games he has had to sacrifice himself a bit more, and he is not used to that, obviously he starts from much further back and that affects him because he doesn't get to finish the moves that used to be a routine for him.
Klopp has lost the key to his attack, but that doesn't mean that the season is lost, but it's going to be hard for them to replicate it or learn to play something else.
The solution
The German coach is very smart, he knows that at the moment the team is missing a wheel, but instead of trying to get Nunez to emulate the Senegalese, he is going to change the way he plays or the formation.
In these games, he tried to play the way he has been playing, but it obviously hasn't worked. The team looks a little bit broken, but it's too early in the season to write them off as dead.
Surely, he will give much more prominence to the midfield, which can generate a lot of football. Thiago Alcântara did not play in the draw against Crystal Palace because of a muscle injury, and will surely be that organiser to forget the dependence on Mane.
This frees up the front three who, with possession and closer to the box, are capable of tearing opponents to shreds. The problem is that we still don't know how long the injured Spaniard will take to come back, who will be the key player in Klopp's attack, will be out for. Is there life after Mane?
