Mane red card 'very unlucky' as Liverpool suffer City humiliation

Sadio Mane collides with Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson during yesterday’s game at the Ethihad Stadium in an incident which resulted in a red card for the Liverpool player. Photo: Lee Smith. Photo: Reuters

Sachin Nakrani

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said the red card shown to Sadio Mane in yesterday's 5-0 humbling at Manchester City was "very unlucky" but indicated he will not appeal the decision.

Mane was sent off by the referee Jonathan Moss on 36 minutes after the Senegal forward's right boot collided with Ederson's face as he attempted to beat the goalkeeper to a through pass. Ederson suffered a facial injury that required lengthy treatment.

The collision was accidental, Mane focusing on the ball throughout, but was high and fell under the guidelines for a dismissal for serious foul play. Not that Klopp saw it that way after what was the heaviest loss he has suffered since taking charge of Liverpool in October 2015.

"[It was] an accident. Very unlucky," he said. "Everyone knows he didn't see the goalie. He just wanted to get the ball as soon as possible."

Klopp said Mane was "very upset" about a red card that rules him out of Saturday's visit of Burnley and two matches against Leicester City, in the Carabao Cup and the Premier League.

Asked if he would look to overturn the ban, Klopp asked: "Can we? What would be your advice? So it never works. It would be another waste of time, like the game today."

Ederson had to leave the pitch on a stretcher and was replaced by Claudio Bravo. He was examined at a medical centre at the nearby Etihad Campus. It was later confirmed he had suffered neither concussion nor a fracture to his cheekbone.

"It is not broken, the bone. That is important," said Pep Guardiola. "He will be more beautiful after that. Hopefully he can come back soon but maybe he will not play in the next game [against Feyenoord in the Champions League on Wednesday]."

The City manager praised Ederson for the bravery he showed in trying to stop Mane from scoring and was also full of praise for his side's display, which earned them their biggest home win against Liverpool since September 1935. Sergio Aguero gave the hosts the lead on 25 minutes before Gabriel Jesus and Leroy Sane scored two each.

"It is not easy to play against 10 but we did it well," said Guardiola. "Offensively it is a big step forward for us."

Klopp was critical of his side's wastefulness in front of goal and of how they collapsed after Mane's dismissal. "It was a hard lesson today," he said.