Sadio Mané

[Scratch]

Just needs to bang in a screamer, and he'll get his confidence back. 2 games to go, we can do this.

[BigChief]

What was the reaction between Klopp and him at the end? I'm guessing hugs in the madness of the win.

[Doc_Piptorious]

Klopp faked going in for a hug and then chinned Mane.

[Shaggy]

I'd play Shaq ahead of him on Wed.

I love Shaq but thought he was absolutely ****e when he came on yesterday. Mane had a bit of a mare too but I'd stick with Sadio.

[Buzzo]

I love Shaq but thought he was absolutely ****e when he came on yesterday. Mane had a bit of a mare too but I'd stick with Sadio.

Kenneth posting Shaq support in 3....2.....

[Mr Pink]

I love Shaq but thought he was absolutely ****e when he came on yesterday. Mane had a bit of a mare too but I'd stick with Sadio.

if you’re an opposition defender you defo wouldn’t take Sadio’s threat lightly, even given his form. I think it gives Mo a better chance of getting some space, having Sadio in the team. A front 3 of Bobby, shaq and Mo, would feel like a stop Salah and you stop Liverpool kind of lineup.

[Fredo]

Shaq did instigate a great move which should have seen Gini score though. He did help us keep possession and retain patience. Thing is with these fringe players, they need games to be able to get to their level. Klopp doesn't rotate extensively like Pep for example, which has its downsides.

[Kenneth]

I love Shaq but thought he was absolutely ****e when he came on yesterday. Mane had a bit of a mare too but I'd stick with Sadio.

**** you

[Norbs]

I thought he was sharp. Down to him Salah scored as he kept moving and was alive to nick the ball back. Of course, not at his best, but I'd rather have him around than not.

Works his socks off, just getting no luck at the moment. Form is temporary

[Kenneth]

And it’s over?

[RedReet]

[ame]https://twitter.com/Zonal_Marking/status/1437386492440190977[/ame]

Too many images to c&p on phone, but if anyone is interested, I'll maybe do it after dog walk.

Basically Sadio is great.

[Buzzo]

I’m interested

[Rich]

He was really good yesterday apart from his finishing. But he never gave up and finally got a goal.

[Buzzo]

He was really good yesterday apart from his finishing. But he never gave up and finally got a goal.

I agree. Last year his overall play was all over the place as well as his shooting. Now he looks back to being really direct and causing havoc, but his finishing is erratic.

His positioning when Salah scored was also bizarre. Sometimes it’s as if he forgets the rules!

[RedReet]

Cox: Mane spinning both ways makes him a dangerous option through the middle



Liverpool, Leeds, Premier League
By Michael Cox 5h ago 27
Not for the first time, Sadio Mane’s fine performance in Liverpool’s 3-0 victory over Leeds was overshadowed by the contribution of Mohamed Salah. It was the Egyptian who scored Liverpool’s opener, which brought up his 100th Premier League goal and inevitably dominated the headlines. Mane had to wait until the 92nd minute — and his 10th shot of the match — before getting onto the scoresheet.

But this was a contest made for Mane, against a Leeds side using their typically aggressive man-to-man press across the pitch. Whereas Salah was a threat primarily with his speed in behind, Mane was capable of coming short to receive the ball to feet, spinning past opponents and turning in either direction. He was Liverpool’s key attacker.

While Diogo Jota is arguably ahead of the injured Roberto Firmino in Jurgen Klopp’s pecking order at the moment, this would have been a useful match for Firmino. His deep positioning between the lines would have caused Leeds’ man-marking problems, and his recent performance against Chelsea demonstrated how effective he remains at collecting the ball in clever positions between the lines. Jota, for all his qualities running towards the opposition goal, isn’t quite as adept as Firmino in those situations. Therefore the attacker playing the Firmino role here was, effectively, Mane.

Mane has rarely been used centrally under Klopp. Since Salah’s arrival in 2017 — which saw Mane switched from the right to the left — he’s played 89 per cent of minutes on the left and only two per cent through the middle.




Here, although Mane’s starting position was on the left, he spent the majority of the first half peeling off into central positions, with Jota drifting left. Here’s a good example in the early stages — Jota with a forward pass from the left to Mane, who takes the ball in his stride and feeds Harvey Elliott on the run.





This move ended with Mane receiving the ball in a classic Firmino position and trying to slip in Elliott again, although the pass was overhit.



This became a recurring theme — Mane moving inside from the left, receiving the ball in great positions, but getting the final pass wrong. Here he senses the space between the lines, collects a forward ball from Fabinho, but his first-time pass is played to Liam Cooper, rather than to Jota or Salah.





Three minutes later, here’s a similar situation to the first one — it’s that same Jota pass into Mane, who receives the ball on the turn away from the defender and plays in Salah, although the ball is played into feet rather than in behind.