Glen Johnson has insisted Sadio Mane is the main man for Liverpool over the coming months as they aim to end their 29-year title drought.
Speaking to talkSPORT host Jim White on Friday, the former Anfield right-back claimed his old side will beat Manchester City to the Premier League crown this season.
“I think Liverpool will win it,” Johnson said. “City and Liverpool with both drop points, but I just think Liverpool’s squad is capable is taking this a step further.
“I know they’ve had a couple of not so great results recently, but that’s just the Premier League, you can’t always perform at your best and they will bounce back.”
Asked who can make the difference for the Reds in their title run-in, Johnson told Jim White: “Van Dijk will obviously be a massive player for them, but I personally think Mane.
“If he’s on top of his game, he’s such an explosive player he can pop in a goal from nowhere. As long as they are on the top of their game, Liverpool will be right in there.”
OPINION
Before Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane was, for one season, the most incisive attacking player at Liverpool. His pace was instrumental to the team’s devastating counter-attacking style and some lumpen performances when he was injured in his debut campaign demonstrated how much the side had come to rely upon him. The 26-year-old has been barely any less effective in the last two seasons, but Salah’s stunning goalscoring and brilliant movement has made him the attacking talisman, while Roberto Firmino’s ball-playing brilliance as either the spearhead or number 10 makes him hugely influential. Mane is also another untouchable, but goes under the radar a little, partly because he is not as technically gifted, or quite as prolific. That said, he has scored in each of Liverpool’s last two games to take his season haul to 12 goals from 30 matches, 11 of them in the league. He is also the most unpredictable of the trio, with his extreme pace and ability to change direction in a nano-second able to destroy the best defences. There is a sense there’s still plenty to come from the left-sided forward.