Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen has suggested that Sadio Mane avoids winning penalties through fear that Mohamed Salah will score from the spot.
Mane stayed on his feet despite contact from Andreas Christensen in Liverpool's 1-0 loss to Chelsea on Thursday evening.
Owen felt that the Senegal international could have earned his side a spot kick by going to ground, but he decided not to in the knowledge that Salah would take the resulting pen.
"I couldn't believe he didn't go down there and look, I'm not advocating he does," Owen told Optus Sport. "It was a great touch and he possibly thought he might get a chance at the end of it, but he did something similar a week ago [against Sheffield United].
"I just wonder, and it might be a little bit of devious thoughts creeping into my head, Mo Salah is the penalty taker in this team, and if [Mane] thinks he's getting a chance to score he thinks, "well I'm going to score, if I don't stay on my feet, Mo Salah's going to get another penalty.
"These players have been going for the Golden Boot for the past couple of seasons. It might be a wild sort of theory, but the competitive nature of him and Mo Salah... we've seen them not passing to each other when one of them is in a much better position to the other.
"We're seeing a little bit of selfishness, we're seeing a little bit of disgruntled behaviour - Mo Salah shaking his head [when he was subbed off]. I just think a couple of times there, I've seen Mane go down for those kind of opportunities... and [to not do it] two games on the spin? It just made me think a little bit."
Salah leads the way at the top of the Premier League scoring charts this season with 17 goals, 10 more than teammate Mane.
Daniel Lewis
