How Sadio Mane is carrying Liverpool at both ends of the pitch

Sadio Mane is carrying Liverpool’s Premier League title challenge at both ends of the pitch.

Mohamed Salah scores, Roberto Firmino creates, but no member of Liverpool’s front three does more to carry the team than Sadio Mane.

The Senegal international netted a goal and won a penalty when the Reds beat Leicester City 2-1 at Anfield on Saturday. He was the catalyst for a 17th win in a row in the Premier League, an eighth-straight to start the 2019/20 season, good enough to put Liverpool eight points clear at the top of the table.

Mane is the main reason the Reds are forcing Manchester City to play catch up. He’s stretching defences with his pace and perceptive movement from various positions, along with defending and leading the Liverpool press all over the pitch.

The 27-year-old began his efforts in the latter department as early as the fourth minute by charging down an attempted clearance from Caglar Soyuncu. Leicester’s centre-back entered the game as the man in form, but he was rarely given breathing room by Mane’s relentless press.

Soyuncu was unable to clear his lines again eight minutes later when Mane harassed him into prodding the ball out of play deep in the Foxes’ territory.

In fairness to Soyuncu, he was far from the only member of the Leicester back four subjected to Mane’s wrath:

It wasn’t all grunt work from Mane, though. The former Southampton star was also his team’s most-effective player in the final third.

Much of his early effectiveness came on the right side. Mane usually starts left or central, but Jurgen Klopp had opted to begin with Salah through the middle.

The ploy wasn’t working, with Liverpool failing to convert territorial dominance and ownership of the ball into clear-cut chances. A spark was needed up top, and Klopp knew Mane was the right player to provide it.

Liverpool’s No. 10 was shifted centrally and was at the tip of the attack when he opened the scoring on 40 minutes. Mane made a terrific run from inside to out to meet James Milner’s pass and finish with aplomb.

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His run was timed perfectly, while the first touch was excellent. Those qualities have defined Mane’s improvement and consistency as a finisher in recent seasons, and they ensured he scored a landmark goal:

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The link between Mane’s defensive application and his success in front of goal was showcased once again moments later. This time he reacted quickest to win the ball from a Leicester clearance before combining with Firmino, only to shoot straight at Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.

Mane had ended the half the way he had started it, by acting as the Reds’ talisman in multiple phases of the game:

The pattern of his performance was repeated after the break.  Mane briefly moved back to the right and dropped a little deeper to offer his team-mates an easy option from midfield.

His new position caused havoc for Leicester 10 minutes after the restart when a quick pass from Fabinho found Mane in the pocket between the midfield and forward lines. It’s a tricky position for defenders to wander into, so Mane had a free run at the Leicester back line.

He used the space to exchange a series of one-touch passes with Salah before almost forcing Soyuncu’s central defensive partner Jonny Evans into an own goal. The exchange was the slickest piece of play Liverpool produced and it came courtesy of their multi-faceted No. 10.

Some will question the veracity of the 95th-minute penalty awarded to James Milner after Marc Albrighton had challenged Mane in the box. Yet a decision was only needed because Liverpool’s best forward made himself a nuisance in the most dangerous area of the pitch.

Mane staying on the move and not giving opposition players a second off is at the heart of the relentless press Klopp has made Liverpool’s go-to strategy.

The importance of Mane was best summed up by the impressive numbers he finished the day with after the final whistle had sounded at Anfield, per Goal’s Neil Jones:

"He made more tackles than any Liverpool player – one in particular, on Chilwell, stood out in the first half – and contested more duels. He had as many shots on target as anyone, and ran further than any Red bar Milner and Fabinho."

Klopp’s methods are being tirelessly employed by a player who is improving with each game. Mane is now not only the undisputed marquee attacker in Liverpool’s ranks, he’s also one of the best forwards on the continent, one worthy of Ballon d’Or recognition in the very near future.