Liverpool have no doubt lost their form since their “secret weapon”, Sadio Mane departed. The former Premier League Champions and Pride of England have been losing ground since the Premier League title race started this season.
Jurgen Klopp’s side began the season with two successive draws from their first two games against minor clubs before getting drenched with a 2-1 defeat by Manchester United in their third game at Old Trafford on Monday, August 22, 2022. Mayseiders have played their first three games of the season without a win which is unusual for them.
Since we all know how impressive Liverpool was with Sadio Mane right from his arrival till the end of last season, one can opine that the club has lost ground since the Senegalese forward left, judging by their recent awful display.
Senegalese International and Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy had envisaged how regretful Liverpool would be after sending off his country man, Sadio Mane, saying it will be a very big loss for the club and Premier League.
Mendy said: “He’s a big loss because of his quality, the impact he makes, and also because, for the young players, he’s an example. When you lose someone like this it can have a huge impact.”
Sadio Mané departed from Liverpool to join the Bundesliga club Bayern Munich this summer for a transfer fee reported to be €41 million; ending a memorable six-year stay with the Reds.
The reigning African best player at Anfield has registered 120 goals, six trophies, and countless smiles on the faces of teammates, fans, and supporters of the club.
Sadio Mane’s days with Liverpool started when he joined the club in 2016 for a transfer fee of £34 million as the most expensive African player in history after his impressive two seasons with Southampton.
The Senegalese international made his debut in Liverpool career with a brilliant goal when Liverpool beat Arsenal 4-3 at the Emirates stadium. Finishing the season with 13 league goals in 27 appearances, Sadio mane won the Liverpool player of the year award and was named in the PFA Team of the year 2016/2017 campaign.
Moreso, the former Liverpool forward scored his first hat-trick in his second season for the Reds in Liverpool’s emphatic 5-0 victory against Porto in their Champions League round of 16 first-leg ties. With his goals in the game against FC Porto, the speedster became, at that time, just the fourth Liverpool player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League.
Sadio mane recorded 20 goals; 10 league goals and 10 champions league goals in 44 appearances and he scored Liverpool’s only goal in their 3-1 defeat against Real Madrid in the 2017/2018 champions league final.
Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp once revealed Liverpool made a good choice for signing a valuable and necessary asset, Mane. He said: “We knew we would get a good player when we signed him from Southampton. Did we know exactly how good? I wouldn’t say so”.
Sadio Mane delivered his 50th goal for the Reds in Liverpool’s 4-2 win against Burnley in the Premier League and scored two crucial goals against Bayern Munich which took Liverpool to the quarter-finals of the 2018/2019 Champions League. The Senegalese international finished the 2018/19 season in a grand style with a Champions League trophy and the Premier League Golden Boot award which he got alongside Mohammed Salah and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for his 22 league goals in 36 matches for Liverpool.
Throughout his Liverpool career, Mane scored 120 goals in 269 appearances, winning one Premier League, one Champions League, one FA Cup, and one League Cup for the Mayseiders.
Former Liverpool defender, Jamie Carragher once appraised Mane as the best among other players under Jurgen Klopp. He said: “You could make a strong case obviously for Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk or Alisson following the incremental improvement that has coincided with each of their arrivals, but I still maintain that the correct answer to this particular question is Sadio Mane”.
Upon joining Bayern Munich this summer, Mane quickly made his debut goal to help Bayern to a 5–3 victory over RB Leipzig at the Red Bull Arena. He followed this up a week later with his first Bundesliga goal in a 6–1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.
Despite Lewandowski’s departure, Bayern Munich are the only team in the Bundesliga with a perfect start with 3 wins from 3 games. Bayern are on top of the table with 9 points as they registered 15 goals in the Bundesliga after 3 matches.
As expected, Sadio Mane, the club’s summer recruit from Liverpool, was in fine form as he scored two of those goals in Sunday’s 7-0 victory over Bochum on the 21st of August.
With the arrival of Sadio Mane in Germany, Bayern never felt the absence of their former main striker Robert Lewandoski, as Mane is no doubt a better replacement for the legend who left Bayern for Barcelona. The former Liverpool “secret weapon” has now become Bayern Munich superstar in the wee time of his arrival.
