Liverpool star Sadio Mane has admitted that he felt “frustration” towards Mohamed Salah following an incident that led to the pair having an on-field tiff, but he is insistent that the spat is behind them.
Along with Roberto Firmino, the pair have formed one of the deadliest offensive trios in Europe over the past two years, yet there were signs of a rift when the Egyptian failed to tee Mane up against Burnley in a routine 3-0 win last month.
Mane, though, says that his emotions were due to his desire for the Reds to strive for excellence at every moment.
“I felt frustration because it’s football, you want to score more goals. You see Man City score six, seven, eight and we know we can do that,” he said. “For the team I think it was really important to score as many goals as we can, but he didn’t see me and that can happen.
“I was a bit frustrated but we are really, really good friends.”
The Senegal star even revealed that he light-heartedly winds his team-mate up about the incident.
“Yesterday I said to Gini Wijnaldum: ‘Ask Mo, why does Sadio want to beat you?’” he smiled.
“But you know it is all forgotten, it's behind us.”
With seven wins from seven in the Premier League, the European champions have made an electric start to the season and Mane believes the Reds are as formidable as ever.
“I think we are better this season than last season, for sure,” he said. “We are working hard every single day to get better and get better. We are more mature than last season for sure because a few more months have gone by.”
On Wednesday, he and his team-mates will face their next challenge against Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League, a match that offers him the chance of facing his old side.
“It’s special,” he admitted. “I played there for two-and-a-half years. I am sure they will be ready for me and I will be ready for them as well. I will be really happy to meet my ex-team-mates. At the same time, I would love to win against them.”
Liverpool suffered a 2-0 defeat to Napoli in their opening game of the competition this season, putting them under pressure to defeat their Austrian guests.