Sadio Mane Says Liverpool Slump Is a Test of Champion Credentials

Liverpool star Sadio Mane said the team's recent setbacks will test their champion credentials after they lost 2-0 to Chelsea in the FA Cup on Tuesday. 

The defeat was the Reds' third in their last four matches in all competitions.

Mane told TalkSport's Joe Moore:

"I think in this moment you could be or could not be a champion, a great champion, and I think this kind of moment has happened to us, but it's not the first time, and it won't be the last time.

"We have another important game on Saturday [against Bournemouth] and then on Wednesday [against Atletico], so for this game we will be ready and we will be back again.

"This can happen in football and we're used to it. We just have to keep working hard and keep going if we want to be great champions."

Liverpool had lost just twice in all competitions prior to their 1-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid on February 18.

They lost 2-0 at Napoli in the UEFA Champions League in September, and they were beaten 5-0 by Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup in December. The latter was a team of youngsters managed by under-23 coach Neil Critchley, though, as the senior side were in Qatar for the FIFA Club World Cup.

After the loss to Atletico they came from behind to beat West Ham United 3-2, before losing 3-0 at Watford and 2-0 at Chelsea.

The Blues beat them at Stamford Bridge courtesy of goals from Willian and Ross Barkley:

The Reds appear to have taken their foot off the gas since the Premier League's winter break in February:

Their defeats to Watford and Chelsea mark the first time they've lost consecutive matches since January last year, in which they suffered their only defeat of the last Premier League season at Manchester City before a heavily rotated side lost at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup.

The FA Cup is now out of their grasp again, but they remain in an excellent position in the league:

After the loss at Watford they now have 10 games remaining, but they have a lead of 22 points. Man City can reduce it to 19 if they win their game in hand, but realistically that's still an insurmountable gulf to overhaul.

Their Champions League title defence isn't over, either. The Reds host Bournemouth on Saturday before taking on Atleti next Wednesday.

Liverpool have won their last five meetings with the Cherries, scoring 17 goals and conceding none, so it's the ideal opportunity for them to regain some confidence with a win ahead of the second leg.