Liverpool have appealed the three-match ban handed to Sadio Mane after his red card against Manchester City.
The Senegalese attacker was shown at straight red at the Etihad after his raised boot collided with the face of goalkeeper Ederson, as both attempted to reach a lofted through-ball first.
While the dismissal had disastrous consequences during the 90 minutes, the longer-term impact was set to see Mane miss domestic games against Burnley, Leicester in the League Cup and Leicester again in the Premier League.
The Times‘ Paul Joyce however reports that the club feel the ban would be “excessive” and the appeal will aim to reduce the length of suspension.
Liverpool to appeal length of Sadio Mane’s ban. Club feels three matches excessive. Hearing tomorrow
— paul joyce (@_pauljoyce) September 11, 2017
A hearing will take place on Tuesday, the day before the Reds face Sevilla in the UEFA Champions League.
While Liverpool boss Klopp will now feel he has the reinforcements in the squad to fill in for any particular player from game to game, missing Mane for three successive fixtures would still be a blow.
Philippe Coutinho‘s return to consideration would of course be one option, having filled the left-sided role last term, while new signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would also hope to be considered.
Given one of the fixtures is a League Cup outing, the fourth priority for the Reds across the entire campaign, it’s even plausible that Lazar Markovic could make a long awaited return to action in one of the wide forward roles.
Mane, though, is already Liverpool’s joint-top scorer in the early stages of 17/18, with three to his name along with Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.
The 25-year-old winger apologised to Ederson for the accidental challenge after the game, wishing his fellow professional a speedy recovery in the process.
Liverpool would be loathe to be without their No. 19 for the trip to Leicester, on September 23, and will hope for at least a reduction of one game in the hearing.
Fan Comments