Sadio Mane allegedly ‘punched’ teammate Leroy Sane following Bayern Munich’s 3-0 loss to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night in their Champions League quarterfinal first leg. The shocking incident, according to reports in Germany, took place in Bayern’s locker room at the conclusion of the game.
The ‘short’ but ‘loud’ argument allegedly started following an on-field altercation between the two superstars during the final minutes of the game. Sadio Mane came on for German starlet Jamal Musiala in the 69th minute, and after a communication breakdown a short while later, the former Liverpool man and ex-City star Leroy Sane were seen arguing on the pitch.
Sadio Mane, Leroy Sane involved in physical altercation
It was quite understandable that Leroy Sane was fired up to perform well against his former team Manchester City. As a result, he had a got at Sadio Mane, who already is low on form since returning from knee injury, after a communication error between the two. The Senegalese too gave it back to the German as the two started an argument on the pitch itself.
The rivals-turned-teammates allegedly resumed their argument in the dressing room, with Mane reportedly objecting to the manner Sane addressed him. Mane ‘suddenly’ hit Sane in the face, according to BILD, which caused the situation to escalate. The ex-Liverpool striker allegedly elbowed his teammate in the lip.
It is being reported that Bayern’s players split apart Mane and Sane before everything settled down. The alleged incident occurs when Sadio Mane is having a challenging time in Germany and during a tough season. The 31-year-old Senegal international moved from Liverpool to Bayern last summer, but a knee injury, which also kept him from participating in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, has limited him to only six goals in the Bundesliga.
Mane started the first leg of Bayern’s Champions League quarterfinal matchup against City from the bench as a result of his poor form. He finished second in the Ballon d’Or voting last year, and could hardly have been benched for such a game had he been at Liverpool. The alleged altercation does Sane no favours either since he hasn’t exactly made a splash since moving from City to Bayern in the summer of 2020.
The German international’s window of opportunity to make an impact on the European game has passed. Sane wanted to make a difference against City, but he was quite clearly unable to do so. With goals from Rodri, Bernardo Silva, and Erling Haaland, the Premier League champions easily defeated their opponents 3-0. Pep Guardiola’s men now have one foot in the semifinals.
Thomas Tuchel, who took over for Julian Nagelsmann as Bayern manager last month, will also be shaken by the reported bust-up between his players. Across his only four games in charge so far, Bayern have been eliminated from the DFB-Pokal Cup by Freiburg, and an elimination from the Champions League is now imminent at the hands of City, whom he defeated with Chelsea in the 2021 final to claim the European crown.