Liverpool forward Sadio Mane has insisted the Reds won’t choke in the Premier League title race as Manchester City continue to pile the pressure on the division leaders.
Jurgen Klopp‘s men went 10 points clear of City with their 5-1 reverse of Arsenal on December 29, but City’s win at Southampton the following day coupled with their dramatic victory over the Merseyside club on January 3 cut the gap to just four points – a margin that remains after both teams won their respective matches over the weekend.
Liverpool have a favourable run of fixtures over the next four weeks, with Crystal Palace, Leicester and Bournemouth all set to visit Anfield before the team’s next big test against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s revitalised Manchester United on February 24.
And Mane is adamant the Reds won’t bottle it this time around after City pipped them to the title in the last game of the season five years ago.
https://twitter.com/AnfieldHQ/status/1085448798296510464
“This is not a team of chokers,” Mane is reported to have said by The Sun. “We will be champions.”
“I am sure we will be champions of England. When I wake up, I don’t go to the training ground thinking we will not win.
“We are determined to show we are the best team in the league.”
City boss Pep Guardiola said on Monday night that he will congratulate adversary Jurgen Klopp if Liverpool do go on to win the league.
“If Liverpool win then I will congratulate Jurgen Klopp because it will be well deserved. All we can do is win our games,” Guardiola said.
#LFC cursing ourselves again
Sadio Mane "Im sure we'll win the league"
Me: pic.twitter.com/92bh0nbvJ2
— LFC.ANTHONY (@escoshayLFC) January 16, 2019
“I don’t have a magic ball to discover how many points we need. I said to them ‘don’t look at the schedule, don’t watch the calendar for the Liverpool games,’ forget about it.
“If that happens you lose your own games in my experience. Then it’s over.
“We cannot control what Liverpool do. All we can do is be there until the end.”