Sadio Mane has opened up on his recent run of low form for Bayern Munich and admitted it has proven challenging to adapt after leaving Liverpool this summer.
Mane joined Bayern Munich in a £35.1million agreement from Liverpool this summer. The Senegalese star pulled the curtain down on six trophy-laden seasons at Anfield after making it clear he wanted a new challenge.
The forward got off to a fast start with the Bundesliga giants, scoring four goals in his first four games. However, he subsequently went five matches without a goal, including two blanks in the Champions League and in the recent loss at Augsburg.
Mane ended his mini goal drought by netting in Friday's four-goal victory over Bayer Leverkusen, which ended Bayern's four-game run without a win in the Bundesliga. It was a collectively poor run of games from the German champions, which heightened the spotlight on the former Reds forward's form.
Mane hit 120 goals for Liverpool in 269 appearances and collected six major honours during his time in Jurgen Klopp's side with the Reds struggling to adapt to life without the forward – who proved to be consistently excellent across his Anfield stint.
Speaking to Uefa.com, Mane explained: “It is going well. Switching from one club to another is not easy. I spent eight very nice years in England, six years at Liverpool [after] two at Southampton, and now I am in a new country. It is not easy because everything changes so suddenly: people, training, everything.”
The Senegalese forward continued: “Everything is changing so it is not easy at all. I need to adapt. I knew that and it came as no surprise. It is happening just the way I imagined it. People here are welcoming, and they're real players. People around the club are amazing so I am very happy.”
Dietmar Hamann, who played for both Bayern and Liverpool, questioned how Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann was deploying the Senegalese forward in his attacking system while claiming that Mane looks “isolated” within the team setup.
Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann previously reassured over Mane's form: "He put in so much for Liverpool. He's a new signing. He just needs to adapt. He was trying. I'm certain he will succeed for us."