Chronicle Editor
London — Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has dismissed Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola’s allegation that Sadio Mane is a diver ahead of next weekend’s clash between the Premier League title rivals.
Mane was booked after failing to win a penalty and then provided an assist before scoring the winner in a last-gasp 2-1 victory at Aston Villa on Saturday.
Guardiola, whose side also scored late to beat Southampton, said of the Senegal international: “Sometimes he’s diving, sometimes he has this talent to score incredible goals in the last minute”
Klopp, preparing the European champions for their Champions League clash against Genk today, brushed it off, saying yesterday: “I am not 100 percent sure if he spoke about Sadio or us in general.
“I didn’t hear Sadio’s name or know how we could have known so quick about any incident in the game.
“I can say Sadio is not a diver. There was a situation in the Aston Villa game where he got contact and went down. Maybe it was not a penalty but there was contact, it’s not as if he jumped over a leg and went down.”
Klopp also refused to countenance talk about next Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash with City, currently six points behind his side in second place, with the tie at home to Genk to negotiate.
Liverpool are second in Group E on six points after three matches, one behind Napoli.
“I am absolutely not in the mood today to talk about Man City,” said Klopp.
Asked if he was banning the words Manchester City until after today’s match, Klopp said: “You can say the words Man City, you just cannot think about it.
“I don’t have to tell them that City is on Sunday, tomorrow is Genk.
“I don’t doubt my players at all. I would feel a bit embarrassed if I had to tell them ‘Don’t think about Man City already’.”
Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund and their under-fire coach Lucien Favre hope to maintain the ‘feel-good’ factor from back-to-back wins as they chase Champions League revenge at home to Inter Milan today.
A below-par performance saw Dortmund crash to a 2-0 defeat in Milan nearly a fortnight ago, sparking reports Jose Mourinho was waiting in the wings to replace Favre unless results improved, which the club subsequently denied.
The German media piled into Favre after forward Lautaro Martinez give Inter a first-half lead, then had a late penalty saved, before winger Antonio Candreva raced clear to seal Dortmund’s defeat at the San Siro.
Favre’s team were short of ideas against a water-tight defence and only Roman Burki’s fine save from Martinez’s penalty prevented a rout in Milan.
Dortmund have since improved but are under pressure to beat Inter at home in order to stay on course for the knock-out phase.
A goalless draw at Schalke last weekend was backed-up by dumping Bundesliga leaders Borussia Moenchengladbach out of the German Cup in midweek before trouncing Wolfsburg 3-0 on Saturday in the league.
“We have already beaten quite a few other teams here,” said winger Julian Brandt in yesterday’s Press conference, hoping Signal Iduna Park will be a factor against Inter.
With one eye on the Italians, Favre said it was “nice to see” his side has broken their habit of conceding late goals amid nervous defending.
However, “we need a win,” insisted sports director Michael Zorc, who hoped beating Wolfsburg “will give us the necessary self-confidence”, especially with a crunch Bundesliga tie at Bayern Munich looming on Saturday.
Both Inter and Dortmund come into Tuesday’s tie on four points from three games, each with a win, a defeat and draw.
Dortmund must repeat the rock-solid defending in their goalless draw at home to Barcelona in September to contain Inter’s attack and Saturday’s win over Wolfsburg suggests confidence is high.
For once, there were no whistles of displeasure from home fans, no awkward post-match questions and no frustrated out-bursts from players, as in previous weeks due to Dortmund’s habit of leaking late goals.
“The fun is back again”, stated midfielder Julian Weigl.
Saturday’s win was also a confidence booster for goal-scorers Thorgan Hazard, who bagged his first goal since joining from Gladbach, and Mario Goetze, who converted a late penalty after starting most games this season on the bench.
However, the news is not all good for Favre.
Chief playmaker and Germany star Marco Reus, who also missed the away defeat in Milan, is doubtful with a knock to the foot.
“We will have to see after training,” said Favre yesterday.
Both clubs meet at Signal Iduna Park second in their respective leagues after Inter’s burly Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku scored twice in Saturday’s 2-1 win at Bologna to leave his side a point behind Juventus in Serie A.
Despite two wins inside a week, Dortmund must take three points to calm fears of a group stage exit.
“Now Favre has to win,” demanded Germany’s top-selling daily Bild, especially with group leaders Barcelona at home to bottom side Slavia Prague today.
Fixtures
Today: Barcelona v Slavia Prague, Camp Nou 19:55
Zenit St. Petersburg v RB Leipzig (Saint Petersburg Stadium 19:55), Liverpool v Genk (Anfield 22:00), Lyon v Benfica (Groupama Stadium 22:00), Valencia v Lille (Mestalla 22:00), Napoli v Red
Bull Salzburg (San Paolo 22:00), Borussia Dortmund v Inter Milan (Signal Iduna Park 22:00), Chelsea v Ajax (Stamford Bridge 22:00).
Tomorrow: Bayern Munchen v Olympiacos (Allianz Arena 19:55), Lokomotiv Moscow v Juventus (Lokomotiv Stadium 19:55), Atalanta v Manchester City (Atleti Azzurri d’Italia 22:00), Bayer
Leverkusen v Atletico Madrid (BayArena 22:00), Dinamo Zagreb v Shakhtar Donetsk (Maksimir Stadium 22:00), Paris SG v Club Brugge (Parc des Princes 22:00), Real Madrid v Galatasaray (Santiago Bernabeu 22:00), Red Star Belgrade v Tottenham Hotspur (Stadion Rajko Mitic 22:00). — AFP.
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