When Sadio Mané joined Liverpool, we knew him as merely a menace on the flanks. Now, after an electric start to his second season at Anfield, he is beginning to bear the hallmarks of a world-class player.
Mané made an explosive start to his Liverpool career last term, showcasing his immense power and blistering pace as he tormented defences and fuelled his side’s top four charge. To the delight of Reds fans, he has begun this season in similarly magnificent fashion.
At Watford, there was a flash of brilliance in a dismal first half. With his teammates looking limp and flat-footed, Mané linked up brilliantly with Emre Can and fired Liverpool back into the contest. A fantastic performance was masked by the defensive catastrophe, but Mané then earned the plaudits after a man-of-the-match display against Hoffenheim as he bullied the opposition defenders.
Then, against Crystal Palace on Saturday, his dogged determination earned his team a hard-fought victory and an important three points. Once again, he was the bright spark.
In the well-documented absence of want-away star Philippe Coutinho, Mané has stolen the limelight, and thus an interesting debate has emerged – is he now Liverpool’s most important player?
Club legend Jamie Carragher said this on Monday:
I think he’s massively important. His goals record for a wide player is phenomenal since he’s come to the club.
If he carries on the way he is going, the top clubs around Europe will be looking at him because he has been a revelation since he came in.
Yet even if Reds fans are furious with Coutinho, who handed in a transfer request in at perhaps the worst possible time, his importance cannot be underestimated.
Aside from the panic-inducing defence, Liverpool’s main problem this season has been the lack of creativity and dynamism in midfield. Coutinho, who brings energy and ingenuity in the middle of the park, offers perhaps the perfect solution to this problem.
The midfield trio of Jordan Henderson, Emre Can and Georginio Wijnaldum looked sluggish and bereft of ideas. As such, reintegrating Coutinho is essential, for Liverpool will otherwise be almost solely reliant on Mané and Mohamed Salah to create meaningful chances.
Moreover, Coutinho’s ability from set-pieces and remarkable conversion rate from long-range efforts means he has the capacity to win games on his own and snatch three points when the team is under-performing. Indeed, numerous teams will likely ‘park the bus’ to repel Liverpool’s advances, and Coutinho’s incisive passing will be key to breaking them down.
Perhaps the best indicator of his importance was his excellent performance against West Ham in May. With the crucial match finely poised at 0-0, Daniel Sturridge slotted home following Coutinho’s defence-splitting ball before the mesmerising Brazilian made the points safe with a quick-fire brace in the second half. It was a tantalising glimpse of what he could do in a central role.
If Liverpool are to stave off intense competition for a top four spot and be a continental success this season, it is without doubt critical that they have a world-class player in their ranks.
Coutinho, then, is Liverpool’s most talented asset, but is he their most important? Last season, they were without their ‘little magician’ for seven league games, yet they managed to win four of those. Mané, through international commitments and injury, missed 11 Premier League games – six of which the Reds failed to win. On paper, then, the Senegalese international is the key man.
While Coutinho is more of a maverick with the freedom to express himself in the midfield, Mané is integral to Jurgen Klopp’s style of play. He is able to put immense pressure on defenders with his almighty pace and few players in the division are more lethal on the counter-attack. In his absence, the attack is notably pedestrian and forced to change tack, often without success.
Indeed, it is no coincidence that the January horror show came when Mané was missing. Fans had foreseen a slump in his absence, and the previously fearsome Reds seemed a shadow of their former selves, dealt blow after blow as their season threatened to unravel. Fortunately, Mané returned before the knockout punch was landed and sure enough, the Reds were soon back on track.
Mané injects vim and vigour into the Liverpool team and is perhaps the most clinical player in front of goal. Despite being sidelined for a decent chuck of the season, he was the team’s joint-top scorer last season with 13 Premier League strikes. The 25-year old has proven himself a lethal finisher; since August 2015, only seven players have recorded a better minutes-per-goal ratio.
If Mané stays fit, a 20-goal haul is far from out of the question. In this team, Coutinho is very much the creator, while Mané offers the end-product.
Mané is a symbol of Liverpool’s ‘rock and roll’ football. He makes the front three, and the team as a whole, tick and when he plays, we are altogether more frightening. He is, then, is a fraction more important than Coutinho.
Nevertheless, it is crucial that Liverpool can hold onto both for as long as possible. If Mané can replicate his 2016/17 heroics, it would be naïve to assume the European titans will not come knocking, just as they have done in the case of Coutinho. For the moment, though, Liverpool are reliant on the pair to spearhead their charge.
Without Coutinho, Liverpool lack ideas. Without Mané, they lack firepower. Without both, they are offensively impotent. Yet if Coutinho takes steps to heal the wounds inflicted by his untimely transfer saga and rejoins the fold, Liverpool will truly be a formidable force.
