Pep Guardiola thought Liverpool winger Sadio Mane has a special talent when moving on the pitch. The Manchester City manager made suggestions that the Senegalese has a penchant for diving in the penalty zone, and Jurgen Klopp is not having it. The German said Mane is not a cheat.
Klopp was reacting to the observations made by Guardiola on Liverpool's win over Aston Villa, in which the Spanish team manager hinted that Mane was seen doing what he did at Villa Park in several games by the Reds.
"It has happened many times, what Liverpool have done, in the last few years, it's because [Mane] is a special talent," the City head was reported by the Express as saying.
"Sometimes he's diving, sometimes he has this talent to score incredible goals in the last minute. He's a talent," Guardiola added.
Purportedly on that talent, Liverpool prevailed over Aston Villa on Saturday, and it was Mane who scored the winner. The club now sits at the top of the Premier League table, enjoying a six-point advantage over Guardiola's squad.
The insinuations, however, from the former Barcelona boss were clear on Klopp, and the latter swiftly dismissed what the City manager has been wanting to float.
"Sadio is not a diver. There was a situation in the Aston Villa game where he got a contact and went down. Maybe it wasn't a penalty but there was contact - it's not like jumping over a leg and acting like he hit you," the German said, per the report from Sky Sports.
Klopp said he was confused about how his counterpart at City could make such an assessment so quick. He added it's not even sure that Guardiola was talking about Mane because "I didn't hear Sadio's name."
The incident at Villa Park, however, was not the first for the Liverpool winger. The same report recalled that Mane was awarded late penalties when the club faced Leicester and Tottenham earlier. Those matches ended in Liverpool's favor and were considered as close games.
Notwithstanding, Klopp maintained that his winger is far from a cheat.
The German explained Mane was in situations where penalties have been called, and he stayed when the calls were made. There was nothing deliberate in the circumstances, Klopp stressed.
It would have been the same case for City if the club was caught in a similar situation, the Liverpool boss said.
"I'm 100% sure if something like this would happen for Man City, they would want to have a penalty because somebody kicked a player in the box and it's a penalty," said Klopp.
