advertisement

'High-flying' Mané back for Liverpool after Senegal title

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) - Sadio Mané has returned to Liverpool after celebrating Senegal's title in the African Cup of Nations and is set to be in contention for the Premier League match at Burnley on Sunday.

Mané led Senegal to its first African Cup championship by converting the decisive penalty in a shootout win over Egypt and Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah in the final. Senegal's Lions of Teranga were feted with a parade and a presidential ceremony in Dakar.

'œHe will probably emotionally still be high-flying, but physically we have to see, how intense it was for him the last few days,'ť Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp said Friday.

Klopp may not need to rush Mané back, however, as Liverpool has plenty of attacking options. New winger Luis Diaz made an impressive debut and Diogo Jota scored both goals in a 2-0 victory over Leicester on Thursday.

Salah came on as a substitute in a win that keeps second-place Liverpool nine points behind Manchester City with a game in hand. Liverpool is also chasing titles in the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup.

'œIt's good to have options with the quality the boys have,'ť Klopp said.

Mané was expected to train Friday and Klopp said 'œwe make a decision after that, how he feels and all that stuff.'ť

Burnley is in last place but has games in hand after coronavirus-related postponements earlier in the season.

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Senegalese soccer fans celebrate as they await the return of their national football team in Dakar, Senegal Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. Senegal won its first African Cup Sunday by beating Egypt 4-2 in a penalty shootout with Sadio Mane scoring the decisive penalty. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui) The Associated Press
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.