Senegalese forward Sadio Mane scored his first goal for Bayern Munich since October 2022 in a 3-1 loss against Mainz 05.
Mane scored the opener in the encounter in the 29th minute as he headed a well delivered cross by Joao Cancelo into the net at the back post.
The last time the 31-year-old scored was on the 29th of October in 2022 as he scored a goal and provided two assists in Bayern Munich’s 6-2 smashing victory at the Allianz Arena.
It has really been a turbulent season for the former Liverpool attacker and it has additionally taken him a lot of time for him to adapt to the Bayern Munich side.
The Senegalese picked up an injury that made him miss the FIFA World Cup
He sustained a big injury on the 8th of November 2022 in Bayern Munich’s 6-1 thumping victory over Werder Bremen and that ruled him out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Sadio Mane came back to action on the 26th of February 2023 where he featured for 20 minutes in the Bavarians comprehensive 3-0 victory over Union Berlin.
175 days was the days it took for the former Southampton attacker to find the back of the net for the capital based club and it would definitely come as a relief to him.
Sadio Mane has been in the news for lots of bad reasons in recent weeks
The 31-year-old has made the headlines for the wrong reasons in recent weeks amid speculation that Bayern Munich want to ship him away from the side.
It was reported that Sadio Mane apparently punched Leroy Sane in the face after Bayern Munich’s loss to Manchester City at the Etihad during a dressing room dispute.
The former RB Salzburg attacker was afterwards banned for one game and fined €350,000 for his conduct, which is by a large margin the biggest fine the club has ever given a player.
Bayern Munich following the incident revealed the one-match ban in a statement which read:
“Sadio Mane, 31, will not be included in the FC Bayern squad for this Saturday’s home match against 1899 Hoffenheim. This is due to his misconduct after Bayern’s Champions League match at Manchester City. Mane will also be given a fine.”
According to reports, Bayern want to explore every means to sell Sadio Mane
It was reported that Bayern Munich would “try everything” to sell the Senegalese in the summer as the fine heaped on him was a very sensitive fine.
Florian Plettenberg speaking with Sky Germany said: “According to our information, it is an amount that goes far beyond £260,000, so it’s a very, very sensitive fine for Mane.
“From what I’m hearing, Bayern will try everything to offload Sadio Mane in the summer.
“From a sporting point of view, Thomas Tuchel has no plans with Mane as he doesn’t fit his system. This is my information. The player is seen very critically internally.”
However, Thomas Tuchel after the altercation stated his backing of Sadio Mane in addition to clearing the air on what transpired between the two teammates.
He said: “I immediately spoke to everyone involved because it was a very blatant incident. We had to clarify the matter before the next training session and to be clear with our communication to everyone who works here. We have cleared the air so that we can train together again.
“We’re not the first team to have an incident like this and we won’t be the last. The way the two guys involved handled it had a cleansing effect. We had a positive, energetic atmosphere at training.”
Concerning mane, Tuchel added: “I am his first lawyer and his first defender. I’ve known him for so long, and I know his entourage. He has my full support. He had that before, and he still has it after his mistake. Everyone has the right to make a mistake.”
In a presser before the share of the spoils with Hoffenheim, Tuchel also stated that the matter has been resolved.
The German tactician said: “That’s settled. A game and a fine are the consequences of what happened. I didn’t see it myself because I was in the coaching room. Of course, I immediately spoke to everyone involved, the players and the staff.”
Nevertheless, Sadio Mane has scored 12 goals and provided 5 assists in 34 appearances for Bayern Munich across all competitions so far this season.
