Sadio Mane proving he's as vital as ever for Liverpool
English Premier League: Sadio Mane (17') Stoke City 0-1 Liverpool Jurgen Klopp insists that Liverpool's win over Stoke City was a hard-fought battle, despite the 3-0 scoreline. Mohamed Salah came on after 67 minutes to score two and help Liverpool see off Stoke City in comfortable fashion. Mohamed Salah came on after 67 minutes to score two and help Liverpool see off Stoke City in comfortable fashion.
After Liverpool's 3-0 win at Stoke, all the talk was naturally about the magnificent Mohamed Salah. His late goals turned an anxious struggle into a stroll.
He deserves every compliment coming his way, but in the performance of Sadio Mane, there might have been even more cause for celebration.
Because of Salah's incredible number of goals this season, there's a tendency to regard him as the "main man" at Anfield now. But it will please a few headline writers at least that Mane in this form shows no sign of giving that tag up just yet.
In terms of playing style, there are few players in England as integral to their team's cause as Mane. This can be accurately measured by the decline in performances whenever he isn't available for selection.
In the first half of last season, he was class personified. Goals and speed helped him fit smoothly into Jurgen Klopp's master plan.
Liverpool's only stumbles before the turn of the year? A 2-0 defeat at Burnley, when Mane was absent, and a 4-3 defeat at Bournemouth after Mane had been substituted when the score was 3-1 to the Reds.
A month in Africa for the Nations Cup confirmed the theory; one win out of nine -- and that a cup replay at Plymouth -- basically proved Liverpool could barely tie their shoelaces without their new forward.
When he came back, things soon improved. He did miss the final few weeks because of injury and somehow Liverpool managed to grind their way to a top-four spot, but there was little sign of the flowing football that got them into such a position in the first place.
This season began with a return to last season's quality. A goal in each of the first three Premier League matches gave Liverpool a satisfying start to the campaign. With Salah also hitting the ground running, the prospect was mouth-watering.
Sadly, a red card against Manchester City and an injury on international duty have restricted Mane's contribution to the season so far. Even Salah's goals didn't seem to be helping much at one stage.
Easy wins against Maribor and Huddersfield certainly helped Klopp, but Mane returned from injury for the game at West Ham and something just clicked. He didn't score -- Salah got two -- but there was a real threat from Liverpool once more.
Sadio Mane scored the opening goal in Liverpool's 3-0 victory at Stoke on Wednesday.
The first goal came from a breakaway via a failed West Ham corner, when both Mane and Salah could have given Usain Bolt a run for his money.
The win at Stoke began with an opportunist strike from Mane, then his wonderful turn and cross created Salah's first goal. The three points moved Liverpool above Tottenham in the table.
Given that the 4-1 defeat at Wembley in October to the Londoners caused so much depression and doubt, the Reds responded well to that dreadful day: five wins, and two draws which should have been wins.
They've shown character to do that, but the return to the side of their talisman Mane has been a key factor. They've looked altogether more dangerous since then, with 20 goals scored in seven games.
The question, therefore, is how to get him on the pitch more often. The front-three combination of Mane, Salah and Roberto Firmino is proving lethal at the moment.
However fortuitous Liverpool were to keep a clean sheet at Stoke, the resting of Salah was a sign Klopp can drop one of his star forwards and make a late change to seal the points.
It might have happened against Chelsea -- Firmino and Mane were on the bench -- if changes hadn't been left so late. Willian's goal might then have been academic, if it had been scored at all.
Even Klopp may still be coming to terms with the quality at his disposal. Mane's absence from last season's most congested period of fixtures -- January -- makes it doubly important that he gets to play as much as possible during the current glut of matches.
Returning from November's international break, the Reds faced 13 matches in 45 days. They've won two and drawn two more when they held the advantage until very, very late. It's a promising start.
The clean sheet at Stoke was most welcome, yet it didn't reflect the unease Liverpool suffered throughout, particularly the Simon Mignolet challenge that could have sunk the whole venture.
Liverpool therefore need to keep scoring freely and though Salah's goal return is already amazing, it would be detrimental to the Reds' chances of success were it to end any time soon.
What has also become obvious ever since he signed from Southampton is that Mane is a vital cog in this Liverpool team.
His season has been bitty so far, but fans will pray he can have a clean bill of health for the rest of winter, at the very least.
Steven Kelly is one of ESPN FC's Liverpool bloggers. Follow him on Twitter @SteKelly198586.
Comments
Use a Facebook account to add a comment, subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, photo & other personal information you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment, and may be used on ESPN's media platforms. Learn more.
Source: espn.co.uk
Comments
This article has 0 comment(s) , give your comment