Alan Brazil has been blown away by the form of Sadio Mane this season but admits that the Liverpool forward was not at his best in the 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Mane, 27, has scored eight goals in 12 appearances across all competitions this season and will no doubt be looking to add to that tally on Wednesday night when Liverpool take on Genk in the Champions League group stages.
And although the Senegal international has been superb for the Reds, Ray Parlour has told Brazil that he would rather have Manchester Citys’ Raheem Sterling than the ex-Southampton ace.
Parlour and Brazil discussed the two Premier League stars on talkSPORT on Wednesday morning after Sterling fired in a hat-trick against Atalanta.
Both pundits appreciate the two players, but it would seem as though they would still prefer Sterling than Mane.
“Good question,” said Brazil when asked by Parlour if we would take Mane or Sterling. “Mane wasn’t great against United but saying that, he is a top player.”
“I love his touch, his control. Even there are bodies around him, he’s brilliant.”
“At the moment Sterling is scoring more goals.”
Parlour then added: “I would definitely go more towards Sterling than Mane, but Mane’s been excellent.”
“Would you put Sterling as the 3rd best player in the world now?” ?
“Who’d you rather, #LFC’s Mane or Sterling? I’d go Sterling.” ?
“He can get better, score more goals & get more assists.”
“He could become the best footballer in the world.”
Ray Parlour hails @Sterling7 ? pic.twitter.com/dwvUuCQ8gO
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) October 23, 2019
OPINION
Mane has been phenomenal for Liverpool since he joined the Reds from Southampton in 2016 and he just seems as though he keeps on getting better and better. However there is no point comparing him with Sterling. Why do pundits have to do this? Why do they have to compare players from other clubs? Both are in super form and Sterling’s hat-trick on Tuesday night is going to cloud judgement because what they had recently witnessed is going to play a role. If it was Mane who scored a hat-trick on Tuesday, they would be more inclined to say they would rather have the Senegalese attacker in their side. It will be good if Mane can hit the back of the net three times against Genk on Wednesday night if he plays. It would be interesting to see what Brazil and whichever pundit is on his show the morning after would say if they bring up this debate again.
