Sadio Mane‘s frustrating season with Bayern Munich continued Tuesday, with the substitute producing “almost nothing” in a 3-0 loss at Man City.
Bayern are facing a third consecutive exit at the quarter-final stage of the Champions League, having endured a heavy defeat in their first leg at Man City.
Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland all scored for Pep Guardiola’s side, with centre-back Dayot Upamecano in particular falling short of the standard at the Etihad.
Absent from Thomas Tuchel’s starting lineup – and not surprisingly so – was Mane, who has been substitute in six of the last nine games for Bayern.
The German side were a goal down by the time Mane was introduced, taking the place of Jamal Musiala with 69 minutes on the clock, but they soon shipped two more.
Silva headed home within 60 seconds of Mane’s arrival, while Haaland sealed a 3-0 victory six minutes later.
The game was fraught and Bayern were wholly outplayed, but the former Liverpool winger only touched the ball six times in his 21 minutes on the pitch.
He failed to register a shot on goal, key pass or even attempt a dribble; there were no tackles, interceptions, blocks or clearances, either.
Only six attempted passes, with five reaching their intended target.
German outlet SPORT1 rated Mane as a four-out-of-10, explaining that “almost nothing came from [him],” while Sky Germany argued that all three of Tuchel’s substitutions “fizzled out.”
It continues a turbulent first season for Mane at Munich – albeit with 11 goals and five assists coming in 32 appearances, along with a serious leg injury that has hampered his consistency.
The 31-year-old is now without a goal in 12 games, with only two assists to show for it in that time, while he has only played the full 90 minutes once in that run.
Oliver Kahn, the former Bayern goalkeeper who is now the club’s chief executive, recently told Sky Germany that the No. 17 is “still in search of himself a little.”
“He’s a player that needs a lot of encouragement,” Kahn is quoted by The Athletic.
“He’s not used to the type of competition for places we have here. It wasn’t like that at Liverpool.
“We hope he will come through for us sooner or later.”
The hope will be that Mane comes into life sooner rather than later, but it is difficult to ignore speculation in Germany that his time in Jurgen Klopp‘s intense system at Liverpool has “drained” him.