Jamie Carragher has revealed Sadio Mane is his favourite Liverpool player and suggested he prefers the winger to Mohamed Salah because of his tireless efforts for the team.
Mane was the hero as the Reds clinched a narrow 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Tuesday night to move level on points with Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title. The Senegalese headed home from Luis Diaz’s cross midway through the second half to seal three crucial points as Salah watched on from the bench.
The Egyptian may have topped the goalscoring and assists charts in the Premier League this season with 22 goals and 13 assists, which have been crucial to the Reds’ title chase. But Carragher, speaking after Liverpool ’s victory, outlined why he favours Mane as a Liverpool fan - and claimed he is every bit as important as Salah.
"For me as a Liverpool fan when I watch Liverpool play, Sadio Mane is my favourite player," the Reds legend said. "He's the one I watch. We know Salah's numbers, he's won the Golden Boot, so you can't say he doesn't do his job. But as you say about Mane, he's sacrificed himself at times, the shift he puts in. Not just him but Salah as well... five years they've been at it now.
“Never injured touch wood for Liverpool, they're there week in, week out, 90 minutes, getting their numbers up every week, what they've done for this club is unbelievable. Huge fan of Sadio Mane, and I can assure you he's going nowhere. I won't let him go to Bayern Munich!”
Mane’s place in the Liverpool side looked under threat in January when Jurgen Klopp sanctioned a £49m deal to sign Diaz from Porto. And while the Colombian has exceeded expectations so far at Anfield, 30-year-old Mane has responded by scoring 12 goals in all competitions since February.
Have Your Say! Do you agree with Carragher that Sadio Mane deserves more praise for his efforts for Liverpool? Comment below.
The forward appears to be thriving in a new role as a deep-lying No9 through the middle, a role which Diogo Jota occupied in the early stages of the season. And Carragher believes Klopp made the right decision by finding another role for Mane, rather than just benching him to make room for Diaz.
“You'd always find a place in the front three for him,” he said. “When Diaz came in and he started so well, he wants to play on the left which is Mane's position. Salah's always going to play on the right, then he's in a fight with Jota, who's a scoring sensation since he's come to Liverpool.
“I love him, I absolutely love him to bits. Not just because he's a great player and for what he's done for Liverpool, I wouldn't say he's sacrificed himself but he initially came in on the right wing, then Salah came in and he moved to the left. He's then fantastic on the left, Diaz came in on the left and he moved to centre-forward. He's always moving for someone else, but his performances don't drop. He's still producing."
