Bayern Munich has taken disciplinary action against forward Sadio Mane, suspending him for one game and imposing a fine following an altercation with Leroy Sane after their recent Champions League loss to Manchester City. Mane, 31, will not be included in the FC Bayern squad for the upcoming home game against 1899 Hoffenheim on Saturday due to his misconduct after the match against Manchester City, as announced by the club on Thursday.
According to reports from Bild, Mane, who joined Bayern Munich from Liverpool in the summer of 2022, allegedly hit Sane in the face during an argument on the pitch after the defeat. The incident occurred towards the end of the match in Manchester, and footage of the altercation has been circulating in the media.
Mane has been struggling to find his form at Bayern Munich, having scored 11 goals in 32 appearances since joining the club as a replacement for Robert Lewandowski.
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He started off well, scoring six goals in his first seven matches in all competitions, but has not found the back of the net since October. Additionally, Mane has had six goals disallowed for offside this season, which is a Bundesliga record.
The Senegalese forward also suffered a leg injury while playing for Bayern against Werder Bremen in November, which kept him out of Senegal’s World Cup campaign and caused him to miss nine club matches. Mane recently returned to action and was given his first start under new manager Thomas Tuchel in Bayern’s 1-0 league win against Freiburg, but missed several chances to score.
Bayern Munich’s chief executive Oliver Kahn acknowledged Mane’s struggles, attributing them to the high level of competition for starting spots in the team. Despite Mane’s availability, Bayern’s chances of overturning the deficit against Manchester City in the upcoming return leg in Munich to reach the Champions League semi-finals seem bleak, following their significant defeat in the first leg.
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Mane and Sane were seen on the training pitch together on Thursday, hours before the suspension was announced, and Bayern declined to comment on the altercation when approached by the media.
