‘It was hard’ – Sadio Mane puts Liverpool’s problems behind him and pushes Mohamed Salah to claim

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Sadio Mane says the problems he faced last season are behind him strongly in Liverpool.

The Senegal star suffered from a drop in form and a crisis of confidence as the injured Reds struggled with the lack of enthusiasm from the entire Premier League crowd.

Such was Mane’s withdrawal that he admitted to taking tests to try to find the root of the problem and get back to the kind of performance that put him inside the top five on the 2019 Ballon d’Or list.

“I took a test to get a look at my body,” he said in May, after admitting it was “the worst season of my career.”

READ MORE: Danny Rose left confused as Liverpool don’t believe Mohamed Salah

However, after scoring for the sixth time of the season in Saturday’s 5-0 win over Claudio Ranieri’s Watford, Mane – whose 100th Premier League goal was – believes those fears are now a thing of the past.

He said: “It was hard for myself but it was hard for the team and sometimes it’s normal but that’s all behind us now.

“I’ve said from the start now that it could be a different season for all of us and you can see that.

“So we hope to achieve titles, which is our dream, and that’s what we’re looking forward to and what we’re working towards.”

With 22 goals between them in all competitions already this season, three goals for Liverpool from Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino are more evident than ever.

It’s the most they’ve scored as a three-axle attack at this point in any season together at Anfield and Mane is enjoying himself to the left of Jurgen Klopp’s attacking line.

“I think we started well, played well, created many chances and scored five goals.

“I’ve always said it’s very easy to play up front with these two guys. They are two of the best players in the world and I think we’re causing a lot of defensive problems.

“I think it’s through quick moves, deep falls, and runs that make the difference. We hope to continue like this and score as many goals as possible for the team until the end of the season.”

Despite Firmino’s hat-trick on Vicarage Road, plenty of plaudits once again spread at Salah’s feet after another superb goal for his growing group.

Klopp declared the No. 11 shirtless “the best in the world” after the match but Mane was not surprised by his teammate’s appearance.

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“Of course, I think you guys are surprised – but not me because we all know its quality,” Mane said.

“We know how he can move the ball, he showed it against Manchester City, which is another great goal, so scoring goals like this is normal.

“It was a very nice goal and I am very happy for it.”

Next up for Liverpool is a trip to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League as they look to move up to nine points in Group B at the Wanda Metropolitano.

The Reds will make Alisson Becker and Fabinho available again after they flew straight to the Spanish capital after being in Brazil’s squad for a game against Uruguay in the early hours of Friday morning, UK time.

Mane said: “It’s always easier to have these kinds of players and for us, it’s not a problem because we know how good they are. Having them back in the team is a plus for us.

“They’ve been here for years so it’s not a problem for them because they are two of the best players in the world so it’s going to be easy for us and getting them back into the team will help us a lot.”

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