Liverpool legend John Aldridge has backed Sadio Mane to recapture his best scoring form as the Senegalese forward goes through something of a lean spell in front of goal.
After seeing his second half effort credited as a Nelson Semedo own goal against Wolves on Sunday, Mane has now gone six Premier League games without adding to his tally of five for the season.
In fact, the 28-year-old has scored just once in his last 11 appearances in all competitions for the Reds, but Aldridge believes that barren patch is merely a blip. He told the Liverpool Echo: ”He (Mane) seems to have lost a little bit of belief in front of goal and I know what that’s like but he’s just got to keep getting into the positions and the goals will flow again soon, I’m sure of it.”
Despite not hitting his usual prolific heights, the Senegal international remains a major threat as part of the front three and is arguably Jurgen Klopp’s most important player.
Aldridge, himself a scorer of 50 league goals for the Reds, described Mane’s performance against Wolves as ‘tremendous’, even if the records will show that he wasn’t on the scoresheet.
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Mane has been a consistently reliable scorer since coming to Liverpool in 2016 and he shared the Premier League Golden Boot award the season before last.
He has been the most consistent of the Reds’ famed front three, now a fab four with the inclusion of Diogo Jota, as both Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah have suffered dips in form.
As is so often the case when a striker goes through a small scoring drought, they often need something to go in fortuitously to set them on their way again.
With Liverpool having already won their Champions League group, it is unlikely that Mane will feature away to FC Midtjylland tomorrow evening. Instead, Sunday’s trip to Fulham presents another opportunity for the 28-year-old to get back on the scoring trail.
