- Robertson and Mane clashed at halftime of the meeting against Aston Villa in 2019/20.
- There was a misunderstanding between the two when Robertson used some expletives on the pitch,
- Liverpool came back to win the game 2-1 with Robertson and Mane scoring in the final moments.
Jürgen Klopp has shared the behind-the-scenes moment that could have led to club not winning their famous league title in 2019-20.
Klopp was speaking to the Anfield Wrap about Robertson for a farewell video and shared the moment at halftime that could have ended in disaster for the title race only 11 games into the season.
Andy Robertson and Sadio Mane had an amazing relationship on the left-hand side under Klopp and were known for their overlapping runs that caused chaos for the opposition defence.
Liverpool found themselves 1-0 down at halftime as they conceded to Mohamed Trezeguet in the 21st minute.
What happened in the Villa Park changing room?
During an incident in the first-half, the pair clashed, and Robertson shouted “f**k off”, while Mane thought the Scot had shouted “f**k you” to the winger. Robertson admitted that Mane was usually the “emotional character” in the dressing room, and he would typically have to stand up for his left-sided partner. On this occasion, he knew he had to stand up for himself.
Robertson admitted that the pair were shouting across the changing room at each other and knew that this wouldn’t help his side turn around the mistakes that left them behind at half-time.
Andy Robertson and Sadio Mane settle their differences
Klopp commented that if the pair didn’t settle their differences, he would have to take one of the pair off, as their working relationship was crucial to attacking success on the left-hand side. When split up by the manager, they were able to go about their regular business for the second half. With 87 minutes on the clock, Mane whipped in a cross, and Robertson met it with a thunderous header. With the game level, the pair rushed back, looking for another. With a corner late in injury time, Mane was able to head home a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross.
Liverpool won the game 2-1 and went on to win the league at a record pace.
Why was the Aston Villa win so important?
Entering gameweek 11 of the 2019/20 season, Liverpool had won nine and drawn one of their 10 games. They had a six-point lead in front of Man City, but the narrative of opposition fans was that they hadn’t faced any major challenges.
This game came a week before they played Man City, and therefore a defeat would have seen their lead reduced to three points, and the week after a defeat to City would have seen it disappear completely. This win, as Klopp shared, showed him that this team were “mentality monsters” and from this point, confidence in winning the league grew within the group. This win continued a winning run that would go on for 18 games. After 27 matches, Liverpool had won 26 and only drawn one.
Lockdown caused disruption to the season, but Liverpool would go on to pick up 99 points, the second-highest points total in Premier League history.
