I'd prefer to see him on the bench today or even outside of the squad. Take a couple of days off, watch the game from the TV or from the stands. My only problem with my and other people judgment on him is that the whole team is performing like sh*t. He was never the winger who takes the ball and runs with it at defenders except for little moments of genius, meaning that he's not the guy you go to for individual brilliance when the team is not performing. Mo is about running into space and beating the last defender and the GK or being at the right place at the right moment to slot in a rebound or a tap in, etc.
First, he is not receiving that type of service at all this year and if you watch closely, he is making those runs. Actually, if you focus on him during spells where we have the ball, you will get frustrated because the ratio of smart runs and calls being made to attempted passes in his direction is pretty bad (one reason for that is we can't keep the ball nowadays, we let teams press us like we usually press others). I'd also like to add that as much as I love Diaz, this kid can be frustrating because he cuts inside so well, but 80% of the time he can't spot his teamates runs and especially not the far right ones from Mo, Trent and whoever is our RCM which is something that Mane was able to see and capitalize on. With that said, Mo's runs are also less effective because of my next point.
Second, I can't understand why he is playing so wide, it literally keeps him out of a huge portions of the little attacking action we manage to produce during games. It used to be that Mane would cut in from the left and automatically, like clockwork you know Mo is now in the box or on the very edge of it to receive a pass or hunting for a rebound. Now I see Diaz cutting in from the left, I look to the right and often Mo is almost hugging the line and Trent is the one who is much more central. Its the same when we have the ball in central areas of the pitch or even when the center-halves have it. We are used to see him camp in the half space and make runs from it, now he is hugging the line and
With that said, he is still performing with a certain lack of energy and when he has the ball at his feet it is way too easy to dispossess him and it becomes frustrating to watch him perform like that over the 90 minutes.
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