Thursday 15 September 2016 22:24, UK
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.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
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 has already tormented Arsenal and Leicester. On Friday night at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea could be next.
