Alan Shearer has backed Jurgen Klopp's view on Sadio Mane's reaction to being substituted against Crystal Palace.
The Liverpool forward was clearly frustrated with being replaced by Mohamed Salah in the 7-0 win, despite his side cruising at 4-0 up at that point.
His reaction prompted a lot of debate on social media, particularly after Salah recently responded in a similar fashion when being substituted against Brighton in November.
Yet, speaking to talkSPORT post-match, Klopp played down Mane's apparent anger and said it was a natural response to a footballer no longer being allowed to play.
The Reds boss also argued that he had to replace Mane in order to protect him from injury after a typically high-energy performance.
He said: “They all want to play and it’s important.
“When you take them off, they don’t smile always, that’s important too.
“These boys are the highest performance athletes, that means they give absolutely everything.
“So from time to time I have to pull the plug. That’s how it is.”
Match of the Day pundit Shearer said he can see Klopp's point of view, especially with the German being so vocal over player welfare during a hectic season.
Yet the former England striker said it showed the difference in mentality between a player and a manager that Mane was so frustrated to be replaced.
Shearer said: “Well, he is playing so well, scoring goals, getting assists and you can see Jurgen Klopp saying his players are playing too much football. That is the difference between the players and what he thinks.
“There were goals at stake and he wanted to put the ball in the back of the net.”
