Mane: We shouldn't put pressure on ourselves

Liverpool do not need to put pressure on themselves at this crucial stage in the Premier League title race, Sadio Mane has said ahead of Sunday's showdown with bitter rivals Manchester United. The Reds can take a three-point lead over Manchester City with victory against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's resurgent United on Sunday, when Pep Guardiola's side will contest the EFL Cup final versus Chelsea at Wembley.

That would put the pressure back on City, who lead the way on goal difference having played a game more, following a Liverpool run that has seen them drop points in three of their past six league games. With this weekend's clash followed by a home game against Watford on Wednesday, when City play West Ham, and then a Merseyside derby with Everton at Goodison Park, it is a huge seven days for Liverpool's title ambitions.

But Mane sees little point in adding self-imposed pressure, telling Liverpool's official website: "Of course, it is a dream of every single player to play in these kind of games – and of course, you want to win them.

"Everybody knows it is a derby and against United it is always tough, but we are confident and think we can do it. We are going to go there and try to do everything to win the game.

February 23, 2019

"It is different [for United] now. They have made changes, changed the manager and he is doing very well, winning almost every game. They are confident and so are we, so it'll be a tough game and we will see what happens."

"Every single game now for us is very, very big. We know that, so let's focus and take it game by game. We always want to be top of the table – and you can only do that by winning games. We have another important game and we know, if we win it, where it will take us [in the table], so we will go there, enjoy it and try to win the game."

Mane added: "As I always say, putting pressure on ourselves is not going to help us. This game is like all other big games – we respect them, but I think we can also beat any team.

"It will be a tough game, but we can still win because we have already won so many tough games. It won't be easy, but we will go there to do everything to get a positive result."