Consistency key for Sadio Mane to round out Liverpool's dynamite front three
When Liverpool's much vaunted "Fab Four" were lighting it up in the opening months of last season, Sadio Mane was very much the George Harrison of the group. Philippe Coutinho and Mohamed Salah were John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the headliners, while Roberto Firmino was Ringo Starr -- not always fully appreciated by the mainstream audience but with his own cult of dedicated followers.
Like Harrison, Mane was an important part of a successful group and everybody knew who he was, but he was overshadowed by his colleagues and was often in the background. Not exactly a peripheral figure, just not as heralded as the rest.
Coutinho moved on midway through last season and the "Fab Four" became a trio, yet Mane still remains very much third man. At most other clubs he'd be the star, but in Liverpool's forward line he remains the least glorified. Justifiably so given the accomplishments of Firmino and Salah.
All that could change this year, though. Mane struck twice in Liverpool's 4-0 win over West Ham United on opening weekend, continuing an impressive run that has seen him find the net 13 times in his past 17 appearances for the Reds.cheap nike nfl jerseys wholesale
It's only natural that Salah and -- to a lesser extent -- Firmino will get most of the attention. They performed at a higher level and more consistently than Mane did last year and the numbers are there to prove it. There's no shame in riding the coattails of "the Egyptian King" though, and Mane more than played his part in the success Liverpool's forward line enjoyed last year. Between the three of them, they plundered 91 goals. More than any trio in club history.
Most sides would give anything to get 20 goals from their third top scorer, so nobody at Liverpool has any complaints about Mane. But the truth is that as well as he did last year, he could easily have done better. In Europe he was on fire, bagging half of his goals during Liverpool's swashbuckling run to the Champions League final.
Domestically though, there was room for improvement. Ten Premier League goals was not a great tally for a player of Mane's quality in a team that creates as many chances as Liverpool do. Significantly, he's already a fifth of the way to matching that number after just one game this season. Realistically he should have ten by Christmas.
He began last year in scintillating form too until an unfortunate red card at Manchester City resulted in a three-game suspension and interrupted his rhythm. He was also hampered by a minor injury and it took him a little while to get going again.
He then suffered a midseason dip in form and looked to be struggling for confidence. It took a hat trick away at Porto in mid-February to get him fully back on track, and since then he hasn't looked back.cheap nfl jerseys china nike
The great thing about Mane is that even when he's not playing particularly well he still makes things happen. If he doesn't score then he'll probably have an assist, or win a penalty, or make some sort of telling contribution. It's very rare that he makes no impression on a game, regardless of form.
