Champions League Final: Arsene Wenger Names 2 Liverpool Stars to Blame for Paris Defeat

Champions League Final: Arsene Wenger Names 2 Liverpool Stars to Blame for Paris Defeat

Fred Kennedy
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:03 PM
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  • Arsene Wenger has suggested that Liverpool's Premier League title loss last weekend may have had an impact on their Champions League final performance
  • The former Premier League manager noted that key Liverpool players like Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah failed to turn up in Paris
  • Both Mane and Salah had golden chances to put the Reds ahead of Real Madrid but were denied by the incredible Thibaut Courtois

Arsene Wenger has appeared to blame the duo of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane after Liverpool's disappointing Champions League defeat to Real Madrid on Saturday night, May 28.

The Reds fell short in their revenge mission against the La Liga giants as Vinicius Jr's goal denied them a chance to lift the European title.

Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane line up ahead of the UEFA Champions League final match between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid at Stade de France. Photo by Alex Livesey.
Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane line up ahead of the UEFA Champions League final match between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid at Stade de France. Photo by Alex Livesey.
Source: Getty Images

The Mirror UK reports Liverpool were dominant from the opening exchanges of the encounter, with both Salah and Mane going close.

However, Thibaut Courtois, who produced a man of the match performance denied the duo before Real Madrid found the back of the net with their first shot on target of the game through Vinicius Jr.

The Spanish giants were able to hold on to the slim lead to claim their 14th European title.

Arsene Wenger singles out Salah, Mane after Liverpool defeat

While assessing the Champions League performance, Wenger seemed to single out Salah and Mane for blame.

The legendary Premier League manager noted that the two Liverpool stars were disappointing in the Paris outing.

"I wonder after watching that game if the disappointment of last week, being beaten [to the title] in the last game of the season had somewhere dropped a level of confidence," Wenger told beIN Sports.
"You felt as well that Salah, Mane, the guys who make the difference, didn't have the same freshness, the same belief that they can make the difference," he added.

Sadio Mane spotted comforting teammates after UCL defeat

Earlier, Sports Brief reported Liverpool superstar Sadio Mane was a class act after his side's Champions League final defeat.

The Senegal international was spotted comforting his teammates after the full-time whistle of the clash.

Mane's touch of class came amid claims the former Southampton winger could dump the Reds for a move to Bayern Munich.

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Fred Kennedy
Fred Kennedy has a Bachelor's degree in journalism (Daystar University), currently working as a Sports Editor. He has more than five years of experience in digital journalism.