Sadio Mane opened the scoring to help Liverpool to 3-0 win away to Stoke City in the Premier League on Wednesday night.
Mohamed Salah didn’t start the game but came on in the second half to score twice and cap a good away performance for the Reds.
Here, we look at what we learned from the encounter.
STILL MANE ENOUGH
With Mohamed Salah’s sensational form for Liverpool this season, he may not be the outright main man anymore but Mane still has a huge role to play in the Reds’ campaign.
The Egyptian is new and exciting and boasts a serious goal threat but so does Mane. He’s stepped up and delivered for Liverpool time and again. He may not be enjoying as much of the limelight as he was before Salah’s arrival but against Stoke he re-established his status as a match-winner.
He was always dangerous running in behind a sluggish Potters defence, took his goal well and should’ve had another when he went clean through and hit the post. Mane also did brilliantly to set up Salah for the second with the substitute lashing in a volley in the 78th minute.
The Senegalese international was benched against Chelsea with Salah afforded a starring role in the front-line but three points against Stoke is just as important as the one they earned against the Blues and Mane played his part in securing them.
Sadio Mane scores vs Stoke
ONE FOR THE ROAD
Liverpool kept their first clean sheet away from home in the Premier League this season. In fairness, Stoke didn’t offer much of an attacking threat and Simon Mignolet did do his best to facilitate a capitulation when he took Mame Biram Diouf out on the edge of the box, risking a red card.
The Belgian only received a booking for the clumsy foul though and it must be said that the Reds largely avoided allowing the hosts too many chances to get back into it.
Jurgen Klopp
NO STOPPING MO
How do you stop Salah? That’s a question most Premier League defenders will be wrestling with these days. The Egyptian came of the bench on Wednesday to add another two to his tally, now leading the goal scoring charts with 11 strikes to his name.
Mane and co may have worn Stoke down but once Salah came on in the 66th minute, he went for the jugular mercilessly.
His vicious volley to make it 2-0 secured the points and his pace made Erik Pieters look a bit silly when he nicked the ball off him and slotted away the third to put some gloss on the scoreline.
Salah is an early favourite for Player of the Year despite Kevin de Bruyne’s performances and if he can continue this vein of form, no one would deny him the accolade come the end of the season.
Mohamed Salah (C) celebrates scoring
