Micah Richards heaped praise on Liverpool attacker Sadio Mane after his part in the Reds’ 2-1 win over Southampton on Saturday.
The 27-year-old winger opened the scoring for Jurgen Klopp’s side in the stoppage time of the first-half by slotting the ball home from the edge of the penalty area, and Richards was asked after the match what he thought of the Reds attacker.
The BBC pundit explained that he now considered Mane to be one of the top players in the Premier League before adding that he thought Mane had been unbelievable since joining the Reds from the Saints in 2016.
“Yeah for me, Mane is up there with the top players in the league now, I think the last two seasons have shown that,” said Richards on BBC’s Final Score (BBC One, 17:14, Saturday August 17th).
“He was unbelievable in the week and then today, just a little of flash brilliance, maybe everyone was thinking about Mohamed Salah too much, he gets the ball from the left, cuts in, great finish to the top corner and what he has brought, is that he is more consistent now.
“At Southampton, there were a lot of questions being asked about him, whether he was good enough to step up to a top-four team, he’s a European champion and he has been unbelievable.
“And I love to watch him.”
OPINION
Mane was excellent against Southampton on Saturday and it’s no surprise that Richards ended up gushing about him. It’s interesting that the pundit believes there were doubts about whether the 27-year-old could make the step up to Liverpool from Southampton, as it’s hard to remember a time when anyone questioned his ability. Mane has already scored three goals in two appearances this season, and that’s impressive when you consider the busy summer he had. The 27-year-old helped Senegal reach the African Cup of Nations final in the summer and returned to Melwood later than the majority of his Liverpool teammates, yet if anything, he looks less jaded than some of his teammates who got a full pre-season under his belt. It’ll be interesting to see if Mane can keep up his blistering form, considering his busy summer, and you feel there may be a chance for him to improve on his remarkable 2018/19 campaign where he averaged a rating of 7.43 (Source: WhoScored). Last season the 27-year-old ended up winning the Premier League Golden Boot, alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as well as Mohamed Salah, by scoring 22 goals in 36 league outings, and if he can replicate those numbers if not better them, then the Premier League trophy could end up heading to Anfield.
