Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Fabinho is the latest (last?) Liverpool player to affirm the friendship between Salah and Mané after the Burnley thing.
Dragging up old news is not a task I would normally delight in (see: Philippe Coutinho). But this old news comes to us by way of Fabinho and we don’t hear all that much from the best defensive midfielder in the world. So, I’m allowing it.
You’ll remember during Liverpool’s match against Burnley when Sadio Mané was clearly incensed that Mohamed Salah had not passed to him. Sadio felt he was in a better position to make something happen in front of Burnley’s goal. It might have been a particularly frustrating day for Sadio, we don’t know. But what we all saw was Mané fuming as Jürgen Klopp subbed him off the pitch shortly after the incident.
Fabinho is the latest Liverpool player to be asked about his teammates’ brief kerfuffle, because, why not?
“After you know, they joked in the dressing room and spoke normally. They are very good friends,” said Fabinho, in Singapore for Brazil’s match against Senegal.
”In the moment in the game, things can get heated but it’s not the first time and won’t be the last time. It’s okay.”
Sadio’s teammates on the bench at Burnley offered plenty of support but Mané was mad. He just needed time.
Since then every commentator for every Liverpool match I’ve watched has brought that moment up. There appears to have been zero fallout between Mané and Salah, but sometimes people just need something to talk about.
All is right in the squad if you dare to believe every Liverpool player who has commented on the incident. There are loads of folks who would love to continue trying to chip at any vulnerability in the Liverpool squad. They will be disappointed that the moment didn’t reveal real problems at the club. And to them I say, sorry. Our boys play with the power of friendship.
