GUEYE’S OLD PAL’S AXE Idrissa out to silence Mane
EVERTON destroyer Idrissa Gueye has revealed he has struck a pact of silence with Kop pal Sadio Mane in derby week.
As the two Senegal stars on Merseyside, Gueye and Mane are usually in constant contact talking, texting and meeting up.
But when the Mersey showdown comes around, all contact is severed until after the game.
Gueye said: “We are good friends, we meet and have a chat and we talk when we are with the national team.
“Every time we play for Senegal, we travel together too.
“And if the game is in our own country, we always fly together from Manchester to Paris on the way to Dakar. “But one week before the derby, we always stop talking.
“We don’t send a message and we don’t call. We like to play this game, like we are fans. We can start talking again after the game and if we win, I will call him straight away.
“After he scored in one game in his first season, he came to me afterwards and said maybe next time you will win.
“Hopefully this game it will be my turn to do that.”
After clattering Mane last season, Gueye knows what to expect if he does the same today.
“The last time we played, I tackled Sadio hard and I received a lot of messages from Senegal saying,
‘Don’t injure our players he is one of us’, so they watch for sure.” Gueye’s friendship with deep.
That’s why the Everton star was quick to rush to his side when Senegal fans turned on the £34million Liverpool striker for missing chances during an African Nations Cup qualifying game against Equatorial Guinea two weeks ago.
Mane was distraught at the final whistle as fans booed and taunted him.
Gueye said: “I tried to talk to him but after that game he was upset – he just wanted to be by himself.
“I knew it was difficult for him. He’s a good player and a big player for Senegal and he knows what he has to do.
“There is big pressure on himwhen he plays for Senegal. He is Apr 2018: Everton 0 Liverpool 0 Jan 2018: Liverpool 2 Everton 1 Dec 2017: Liverpool 1 Everton 1 Apr 2017: Liverpool 3 Everton 1 Dec 2016: Everton 0 Liverpool 1
L’pool – 118 wins Everton – 82 wins Draws – 82
Mane runs one of our best players so people are expecting a lot.
“They see him doing very good things for Liverpool so they want him to do the same for Senegal.
“But it’s not the same team and it’s not the same conditions so it’s difficult for him. He is doing well for the national team but they expect more and more from him.”
Toffees fans will expect more from Marco Silva’s team today as Everton bid to end a shocking record at Anfield.
Everton have not triumphed on enemy turf since 1999 when Walter Smith was their boss and Kevin Campbell scored in a feisty encounter, which produced three red cards.
But Gueye insists Everton will be positive this time.
He said: “Every manager has his own way to play and Marco likes us to keep the ball and play good football.
“We are a different team now, we are getting better and we go there to win.
“The only thing that will motivate us is three points. We are not mentally worried by the past, we just want to concentrate on our good form.
“If the manager says we attack, then we will really go for it and give our best to try and win the game.”
Liverpool v Everton, Today Sky Sports Main Event, 4.30pm