As of late, Mane has returned to his goal-scoring form, occupying the centre striker position since the AFCON tournament.
The Champions League’s first two elimination rounds are upon us, and at the midway point in three of the four matches, there seems to be a lot to play for. Considering Manchester City’s certain exit, let’s take a closer look at the other three games:
Tuesday’s broadcast schedule
- UEFA Champions League Today, 2 p.m. ET, CBS and Paramount+
- Liverpool vs. Inter Milan, 3 p.m. ET, CBS and Paramount+
- Bayern Munich vs. Red Bull Salzburg, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+
- UEFA Champions League Post-Match Show, 5 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network and Paramount+
Wednesday’s broadcast schedule
- UEFA Champions League Today, 2 p.m. ET, CBS and Paramount+
- Real Madrid vs. Paris Saint-Germain, 3 p.m. ET, CBS and Paramount+
- Manchester City vs. Sporting CP, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+
- UEFA Champions League Post-Match Show, 5 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network and Paramount+
1. Liverpool vs. Inter Milan: Mane delivers in clutch moments
- Since his arrival from Porto, newcomer Luis Diaz has dominated headlines for Liverpool, maybe it is just a reflection of football’s inclination to fetishize the new. Sadio Mane, after all, has been making a lot of huge plays recently in Premier League games. Who knows how much more difficult West Ham’s 1-0 triumph against Liverpool on Saturday would have been if he hadn’t had his poacher’s instinct? It’s hard to imagine what would have happened if he hadn’t come up with a brilliant acrobatic idea. To be honest, I’d say the final one. After all, this is Norwich.
- While some have gotten the attention they so well deserve, Sadio Mane has continued to contribute for Liverpool in the background while others have gotten all the attention. He’s not the kind to give a damn. If another milestone number helps him and the club win more trophies, “I will do all I can to reach it,” he said back in November.
- In the end, there is no doubt he is doing everything he can. Injured Diogo Jota, Diaz, and Salah are all playing in their favoured positions, thus Mane has had to give up his chosen position on the right to play alongside them. It had been feared that he was reverting to the terrible old days when he started scoring goals less often in December, but now he has returned to the centre forward position and his goals have returned to his game.
- Since last season, when he was pulled from Jurgen Klopp’s starting line-up because he couldn’t justify his poor play, this season has seen him come through. Despite his goal return being equivalent to his finest seasons in a Liverpool jersey (2018-19 and 2019-20), he is doing so because he is finding himself in more scoring opportunities than ever before. Compared to the previous four seasons, his xG per 90 is more than 20 percent higher at 0.56.
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- While Mane has shown some statistical flaws in 2021-22, it’s not as bad as one would think. 2.2 xG is the difference between the pre- and post-shot xG according to Opta’s shooting goals added statistic, which measures his failure to strike the target so far in the Premier League this season. Although this may help to explain why some Liverpool supporters have become impatient with him recently, the margin by which he surpassed this measure during the Reds’ title-winning season is almost identical. It’s possible that Mane has regressed to the mean, which in his case is an exceptional player.
- This resurgence of performance has no implausible cause. His situation hasn’t altered much. He isn’t winning more duels, completing more takeaways, or snatching the ball from opponents higher up the field. If you compare the Mane of early 2019 with the Mane of three years later, it’s easy to see that he hasn’t changed all that much. That’s the crux of the matter. During the second part of last season, Liverpool’s squad was decimated by injuries, and it seemed as if the 29-year-career old’s was on the verge of an irreversible fall.
2. Bayern Munich vs. Salzburg: Neuer sweeps up the pieces in tough clash
- Bayern Munich is going to be alright. ” Philipp Köhn will likely have to replicate his first-leg heroics if Red Bull Salzburg are to have any hope of a comeback in the second leg. Following Chukwubuike Adamu’s first-half opening, Julian Nagelsmann’s team scored 2.35 xG, relentlessly grinding down their opponent after Robert Lewandowski’s struggles.
- However, the same problems that beset Bayern Munich on that night might resurface at the Allianz Arena. Corentin Tolisso is set to miss and Marcel Sabitzer is untrustworthy, so Jamal Musiala and Joshua Kimmich might play deep in midfield with Joshua Kimmich in Wednesday’s encounter. Most notably, they seemed susceptible in defensive wide areas, which was not helped by Nagelsmann’s use of Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry as wing backs. They were seldom found back.
- To draw with Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, Bayern Munich used a configuration that may be classified as a back four. Even from start in the second half, Omar Richards was getting the ball so far forward that he was like an additional Alphonso Davies left flank. Leverkusen frequently utilised the space created by the left defender.
