Premier League legend Alan Shearer was left raving over the performance of Liverpool forward Sadio Mane during his side’s Champions League clash against Barcelona on Tuesday.
The Reds, looking to overturn a 3-0 deficit from the first leg, made the perfect start thanks to Divock Origi’s early goal in which Mane helped by winning back possession from an attacking position.
Watching on at Anfield, it was the 27-year-old who caught Shearer’s eye with his constant threat up front, insisting that the Spanish giants had no answer to his quality.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s coverage (07/05), he said: “Brilliant play from Mane, he read the poor header from Alba and kept the ball moving.
“Barcelona are worried about Mane, they don’t know whether to go tight on him or sit off and at the moment they’re doing neither. He is causing them all sorts of problems.”
OPINION
There is a reason that Mane has been heralded as one of Liverpool’s top performers this season, not to mention linked with a move away from Anfield, and this was it. He was brilliant against the La Liga giants, using quick, unpredictable movement to pull the Barcelona defenders all over the shop and the fact he kept them guessing meant they were unable to adapt and compose themselves. After last week’s disappointing defeat it was always going to require performances of the highest calibre from each and every Liverpool player and Mane certainly did not let Jurgen Klopp or the red half of Merseyside down. It would be cruel if his displays all this season ended without a trophy but that could well happen ahead of the final Premier League game of the campaign. You can be sure that Shearer is not the only person impressed by the Senegalese ace – you just have to wonder how many of those are rival scouts.