Jurgen Klopp claims he did not know Sadio Mane had been experiencing a goal drought before his strike in the 7-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday. (More Football News)
Senegal international Mane scored his first goal in 10 games across all competitions as the champions brushed aside Roy Hodgson's Eagles in style at Selhurst Park to return to the Premier League summit.
His previous goal before that came in the 5-0 Champions League thumping of Atalanta on November 3.
While he failed to find the back of the net in six Premier League appearances during that period, Klopp was impressed with his all-round contribution.
Advertisement
The 28-year-old took 16 shots – one fewer than Roberto Firmino, who took the most of any Liverpool player – while he also created six chances for his team-mates, which was only bettered by Andy Robertson, who carved out twice as many.
While Mane's barren run in front of goal came as a surprise to Klopp, the German said it is not the only thing he should be judged on.
When asked about Mane's drought at a media conference, Klopp said: "I didn't even know that! I would have lost a lot of money if I had bet on it, I had no idea he only scored once.
Advertisement
"I have now realised that one of the best players in the world did not score for a while. Who cares?
"He has played exceptionally well, he's in a really good shape and he is so hard to defend against. If Sadio has the ball as an opponent you need to put two or three players on that side and it opens up a lot of things, so I was not concerned.
"Scoring for the boys is obviously really important. Two weeks ago we talked about Bobby [Firmino] and since then he has scored two or three goals. But it was not about [Sadio's] performances; they were really, really good."
Mane will hope to add to his tally of five Premier League goals this season when struggling West Brom visit Anfield on Sunday.
