Sadio Mané is currently among the best wingers and even players in world football right now. Since his arrival at Liverpool in 2016, he has played at a high level, but he has made another step forward this season. He has played in 33 of the 35 league games until now and scored 18 goals.
However, his performance in the last few games have been outstanding. The Senegalese has scored six goals in his last eight games in the Premier League including the two games against Burnley and Watford when he scored twice. The winger is one of the reasons why Liverpool are still in the title race with three matches to go and in the semi-final of the Champions League. This tactical analysis will show why Mané has been so outstanding this season and especially in the last few weeks.
Mané’s career so far
Mané moved in 2011 from Génération Foot in Senegal to FC Metz. In May 2012 he debuted for the Senegalese national team at the age of 20. He stayed just one season in France and joined Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2012. He became one of the best players in the Austrian Bundesliga and so several clubs scouted the young international. Southampton bought the winger in 2014.
At the Saints, he scored 25 times in 75 games and once scored the fastest hat-trick in the history of the Premier League. In two minutes and 56 seconds, he scored three goals against Aston Villa in the 2014/15 season. In 2016 he moved to Liverpool and since then hes been part of Jürgen Klopp’s team.
Liverpool’s three forwards
Mohammed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Mané together form one of the most dangerous attacking trios in world football these days. In Klopps usual 4-3-3, Mané plays on the left wing, Salah on the opposing wing and Firmino between them upfront. However, especially this season, these three men permanently change their positions and rotate very often.
In addition, the Brazilian forward Firmino likes to get involved in the build-up and so he often drops deep. To still have at least one player in the centre, one of the two wingers shifts inside and the wide areas get occupied by one of the full-backs.
Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold always push forward to provide the width to Liverpool’s game and so Mané or Salah or even both can position in the centre. His heatmap shows exactly that. You can find the Senegalese in any position up front.
On some occasions Salah occupies the centre, Firmino drifts over to the left wing and Mané occupies the right. Because of this flexibility and the huge quality of every one of these three players, they are a nightmare for every defence. Furthermore, they harmonise perfectly with each other like the situation below shows.
His development this season shown by statistics
As already mentioned, his performances within the last few weeks have been truly outstanding. This is not just visible when you consider that he scored six goals in his last eight games in the Premier League.
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