Sadio Mane has been the subject of some criticism from fans recently.
While Mo Salah is on 25 goals for the campaign and Roberto Fimino on 19, the Senegalese, last term’s top scorer, has nine and is definitely the least threatening of the front-three right now.
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His touch has seemed slightly off and he’s not enjoyed the kind of world-class season he threatened to have before the Manchester City red-card – a time where he was arguably the best player in the country.
Jurgen Klopp was asked about the 25-year-old today, ahead of the crunch Premier League clash with Tottenham at the weekend, and summed it up perfectly:
Klopp on Mane's form: "Even if Sadio isn't at his best he is still a threat. You have to go through and build on the good things. Sadio on average day is still a fantastic player."
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) February 2, 2018
In fairness, nine goals and six assists from 22 starts is decent going, it’s just that Mane has the capacity to do better.
We’d like to see him dribbling with the ball more, as he seems less inclined to beeline towards our opponents’ boxes with it at his feet recently.
Perhaps he’s been affected by switching to the left, but his early season form suggests this isn’t the case.
In truth, we think it’s a just a mini-slump – and one where he’s still capable of winning us matches.
His thunderbolt strikes against Burnley and Manchester City this month are testament to that.