SADIO MANE AMEONESHA UWEZO CHINI YA JURGEN KLOPP??
Sadio Mane joined Liverpool in a deal that could rise to £36m
Liverpool's deal for
Sadio Mane was questioned in some quarters, but he has made an
immediate impact following his arrival from Southampton. Ahead of the
Reds' Friday Night Football clash with Chelsea, we examine his impressive start to life under Jurgen Klopp…
Even in a record-breaking summer of Premier League spending, Liverpool's decision to splash £36m on Sadio Mane raised eyebrows. The Reds have experienced mixed success with signings from St Mary's in recent years and, despite the huge price-tag, the 24-year-old was not the marquee addition many supporters were hoping for.
One month into the new campaign, however, and Mane is neatly illustrating why Jurgen Klopp has so little appetite for big names. The former Southampton winger has been one of the Premier League's outstanding performers so far, and, even more significantly, he looks tailor-made for his new manager's explosive, high-pressing playing style.
It
started with a scintillating performance in the 4-3 win over Arsenal on
the opening day, where he surged past Nacho Monreal and Calum Chambers
before smashing a spectacular shot inside Petr Cech's far post with his
weaker foot. It was Liverpool's fourth goal in an 18-minute blitz at the
Emirates Stadium, and it was fitting that Mane made a beeline for Klopp
in the celebrations.
Mane celebrates with Jurgen Klopp after scoring against Arsenal
Having
added another goal and an assist in Liverpool's 4-1 demolition of
Leicester on Saturday, Mane has now played a starring role against each
of last season's top two. He had a hand in four of Liverpool's five
goals in their Capital One Cup clash with Burton Albion in between, and
he was a notable absence in their 2-0 loss to Burnley.
In Klopp's
brand of heavy metal football, it's already Mane who's making the most
noise. His high-risk style is highlighted by the fact that he is
dispossessed almost twice as frequently (4.3 times per game) as any of
his team-mates, but while Southampton fans will be the first to tell you
it won't always come off, at Liverpool the rewards have outweighed the
risks.
Chelsea vs Liverpool
September 16, 2016, 2:30pm
Live kwenye 
Mane
ranks top for successful dribbles and fouls won per game (3.3 and 3.0)
among Liverpool players, and he is already combining to great effect
with Adam Lallana, Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Daniel
Sturridge. "He's a fantastic player," said Coutinho this week. "He's
very quick, he's got very good feet, so that helps us to create a lot of
chances to score."
Indeed, it's no coincidence that Liverpool
have created more chances (64) than any other Premier League side since
Mane's instalment on the right. Klopp's style centres on the
counter-attack, and few players are more effective in transition than
Mane, whose speed and movement off the flank make him a nightmare for
opposition defenders.
Mane's touchmap against Leicester highlights his movement off the right flank
He
showcased his frightening pace when he beat Kasper Schmeichel to set up
Firmino's late second against Leicester, and the tracking data shows
that only Tottenham's Kyle Walker and Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha
clocked higher top-speeds than his 34.75kmph in the last round of
Premier League games.
"I think Klopp needed that, someone with great pace behind the front man," former Liverpool captain Phil Thompson told Sky Sports.
"He has electric pace and he has a great football brain too. Because he
can see things with the pace he's moving at, it means he's had a
massive impact on this team."
It's not just with the ball
that Klopp's style demands a frantic tempo, and Klopp will be delighted
by how Mane has adhered to his defensive responsibilities. The winger
made more high-intensity sprints than anyone else in the games against
Arsenal (75) and Leicester (73), and he has also averaged more tackles
per game (2.7) than any of Liverpool's other attacking players.
Mane has scored twice and claimed one assist in three Premier League games
"We
knew of his qualities and how they fit our style, which is why we
brought him here," said Klopp, who had tracked Mane's progress since he
featured for Senegal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, where his
performances earned him a transfer from Metz to Red Bull Salzburg.
The
winger thrived in Austria under the guidance of Roger Schmidt, another
German manager with an unwavering dedication to direct attacking and
ferociously aggressive pressing. In hindsight, that spell coupled with
two years under Ronald Koeman - another advocate of the high-press -
amounted to the perfect preparation for life under Klopp.
Key battle: Firmino v Kante
Who will come out on top in the key battle at Stamford Bridge?
So
while the Liverpool manager was forced to defend his transfer policy in
the summer, Mane's instant impact demands a reassessment. He does not
carry the prestige of Marco Reus, Mario Gotze or the other bigger names
who were linked with the Reds, but it is difficult to imagine another
player more suited to Klopp's philosophy. Mane had already tormented
Arsenal and Leicester. On Friday night at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea could
be next.
Maoni
Chapisha Maoni