Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was a pundit at beIN Sport during the Champions finals between Liverpool and Real Madrid. according to Wenger Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane lacked belief during the Champions finals.
Vinicius Junior’s second goal coupled with Thibaut Courtois was enough to earn Real Madrid their 14th Champions League trophy.
Mohamed Salah and Sadio mane have been impressive all season for Liverpool helping them win the FA Cup and Carabao Cup final against Chelsea. Salah won the Premier League top playmaker and shared the Premier League top goalscorer award with son Heung min of Tottenham Hotspurs.
The Egyptian international scored 31 goals and provided 16 assists in 51 appearances this season. Salah had hinted earlier before the finals that he was up for revenge against Real Madrid following the 2018 finals debacle.
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Sadio Mane on the other hand had been Liverpool’s best player since January and The Senegalese international had scored 23 goals and provided 5 assists in 51 appearances.
However, Arsene Wenge believes despite the duo having an impressive season, he thinks they were a pale shadow of themselves in the Champions final against Real Madrid.
What did Wenger say?
Speaking on beIN Sports after the game, the former Arsenal manager said: “I would like to give some credit to Liverpool.
“They’ve gone for all the trophies they can go for and they just failed with the two biggest ones by just a yard, they’ve been exceptional as well.
“I wonder after watching that game if the disappointment of last week, being beaten [to the title] in the last game of the season, had somewhere dropped a level of confidence.
“You felt as well that Salah, Mane, the guys who make the difference, didn’t have the same freshness, the same belief that they can make the difference.
“Overall they came short, we must be honest, because of Courtois.
“I felt at some stage that if Liverpool came back to 1-1 they’d come back and win the game.
“But they never found that special moment where they could finish their chances off, and a lot of that is down to Courtois.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard had made Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane Liverpool future claims after the Champions League defeat.
Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard believes Mohamed Salah will stay for next season but seems relieved about the future of Sadio Mane at Liverpool.
Speaking on BT Sports after the game He said: “Salah has already said that he is going to be here next year, I know there is a bit of noise around Mane.
“But why would you want to leave this Liverpool team because you know that they are going to be competitive in the business end of the season?”
Both Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane contracts with Liverpool contract expires in 2023.
Liverpool is believed to have offered Mohamed Salah a new contract worth 400,000 pounds a week which twice what he (Mohamed Salah) is earning now.
Sadio Mane who is linked to a move Bayern Munich this summer with the departure of Robert Lewandoski to Barcelona now imminent.
