Wenger attributes Liverpool poor runs to losing Mané 

Football legend Arsène Wenger thinks that the summer departure of “big-game player” Sadio Mané has been the main factor in Liverpool’s slow start to the season.

Jürgen Klopp’s side have picked up only ten Premier League points from a possible 21, most recently dropping two in Saturday’s 3-3 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield, having been 2-0 down after 20 minutes and then leading 3-2 late on.

Darwin Núñez, their £64 million summer signing up front, has endured a difficult start to life at Anfield but Wenger, the former Arsenal manager and now Fifa’s chief of global development, said Mané’s move to Bayern Munich is a bigger factor.

“It’s difficult to understand,” the 72-year-old told BeIN SPORTS. “They have the same core [group of players], same type of game. They are less efficient in winning the ball back than before.

“They lost Mané, who was a top-level, big-game player. He had something [about him], aggressive attitude and determination. He’d score no matter what happens, he’d make things happen.”

On the Uruguay striker, who has scored one goal from four Premier League appearances after a three-match ban for headbutting the Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen, Wenger added: “Núñez, at the moment, hasn’t worked out for them and they made a big investment. He’s sitting on the bench.”

Klopp, the Liverpool manager, told Sky Germany last week that he was missing Mané but that his side could cope without him. “[Mané is a] good guy and a top player,” he said, “but ‘missing’ it sounds like I still want him here. I think it’s really OK that Sadio just wanted to do something different.

Mané, 30, contributed 23 goals and five assists for Liverpool last season before joining Bayern Munich

“The way it went was great. We knew that he would do something different without breaking up badly. That must be possible in life. Missing? Yes, but I’m happy too. That he’s where he wanted to be. We’ll solve our problems here.”

Speaking after the Brighton draw, Klopp admitted his side needed to do better. “We weren’t convincing enough,” he said. “I could not say I was 100 per cent convinced we wouldn’t concede [at 3-2 up].

“We have to fight through this. The boys can play much better. We need stability, consistency and top defending. We are under pressure, we want to do better, we want more points, we want to be higher up in the table. But we were 2-0 down to a really good opponent. We have to keep working.”

Liverpool face Rangers at home in the Champions League on Tuesday before heading to the Emirates for a crucial match against Arsenal on Sunday, when defeat would leave them 14 points behind the league leaders.