Sadio Mane: 'I thought it was a penalty'

By Jonny Whitfield, Reporter | 02 April 2018

Liverpool winger Sadio Mane says that his controversial attempt at winning a penalty against Crystal Palace should have been rewarded.

Liverpool winger Sadio Mane has said that his controversial attempt at winning a penalty against Crystal Palace should have been rewarded.

After Luka Milivojevic had given Palace the lead from the spot, Mane went down under contact in the box but was booked for simulation by referee Neil Swarbrick.

Senegal international Mane told the Liverpool Echo that his team should have been given a spot kick, but added that he has moved on from the incident.

"Honestly, I was thinking [Swarbrick] was going to give a penalty," the 25-year-old said. "He didn't give it but I was not focused on that because it's part of what can happen.

"I could have been lucky but it's part of football. I was doing my best and in the end I scored a goal. I'm someone who believes in myself, and I believe in the qualities of my teammates. I know what they can do. At 1-0 down I was thinking 'we can come back'. We did the job.

"We got our reward in the end and we deserved to win. It's a big step towards the top four. We are going to take it game by game."

Mane's equaliser was followed late on by a Mohamed Salah winner, as the Egyptian netted his 29th Premier League goal of the season.