Sadio Mane’s six-year spell on Merseyside came to an end this summer when he left Liverpool to join German champions Bayern Munich in a £35million deal. He scored 120 goals in 269 appearances for the Reds and was a firm fan-favourite.
There was plenty of excitement in Germany when the 30-year-old completed his switch, however, his career in Munich hasn’t gone as smoothly as many expected.
Four goals across his opening four Bayern matches suggested his adaptation was going to be seamless, yet he’s failed to find the back of the net in each of his last four matches and was withdrawn in his most recent appearance, a 2-0 win over Barcelona, before the 70th minute.
This has led to questions about the forward’s form, which is something Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann attempted to address in the wake of the victory: "He put in so much for Liverpool," said the German after Tuesday night’s match. "He's a new signing. He just needs to adapt. He was trying. I'm certain he will succeed for us."
A key difference at Bayern so far has been that Mane has been played almost exclusively as a centre-forward in 4-2-3-1, with the only exception being in Tuesday’s clash against Barcelona where he lined up in a left-sided role, as he often did for Liverpool.
We did see him looking pretty dangerous playing through the middle at various points for Jurgen Klopp’s team last season, yet it has been as a left-sided attacker that the bulk of his best football has come in recent years. It is therefore understandable that the Senegal star might not be looking his most fluid right now.
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Benefiting from playing closer to goal for the most dominant side in Germany, there’s been a notable upturn in his shooting numbers this season. He’s averaging more shots for Bayern than he was for Liverpool (4.22 vs 3.16) and more of those are finding the target (2.22 vs 1.18). He’s also unsurprisingly averaging more penalty box touches per 90 too (8.22 vs 7.99).
Interestingly though, touches, on the whole, have declined for the 30-year-old, dropping from an average of just below 50 per 90 last season to just 36.4 in this.
Playing more advanced, Mane’s primary role at Bayern has been to finish attacking moves, rather than help create them. His goal record over the years highlights his efficiency in this regard, yet doing so is also taking away some of his other standout attacking traits.
Seeing less of the ball and being higher up the pitch means there’s also been a reduction in things like the number of carries he makes per game, with dribbling and running past defenders being elements of his game that thrived when at Anfield.
Mane’s overall quality means he should eventually rediscover his best form once again, however in light of the above, it probably shouldn’t be a huge surprise that he’s taking some time to adjust to life at Allianz Arena.
