Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has admitted that he ‘loves’ watching Sadio Mane play after the Senegalese international impressed in the 2-0 defeat of Atletico Madrid.
The victory ensured Liverpool sailed through to the knock-out stages with the impressive form of the No.10 catching the eye of the former Red Devil.
“Mane is a nightmare for defenders to play against,” the pundit said on BT Sport via The Sport Review.
“He’s awful. He’s got everything in his locker: he can outmuscle you, he can outpace you, he’s got guile, he’s got quick feet.
“He’s got it all. I love watching him play.”
Ex-Red Peter Crouch also displayed his joy with the winger’s performance saying: “Mane for this goal is special. He shows strength, awareness, ability.”
The 29-year-old scored Liverpool’s second on the night and was on the receiving end of a bizarre challenge by Atletico defender Felipe, which combined with a clear sign of dissent by the Brazilian towards the referee, eventually resulting in Diego Simeone’s men dropping down to 10.
Jurgen Klopp decided to replace Mane at half-time in order to protect him for Sunday’s trip to the London Stadium – a wise decision in light of our opposition’s attempts to wind up our Senegalese attacker.
Having made light work of the so-called ‘group of death’ we can now afford to rotate during our final two fixtures, which sees Porto visit Anfield and a trip to the San Siro in December.
If Sadio and co. can continue to perform like they did last night then there is no reason why we can’t go on to win number seven in Russia next year.