With one devastating swing of his left foot, Sadio Mane's frustrations came rushing to the fore.
Having shown dogged persistence to keep possession beyond two defenders and fashion a shooting opportunity inside the penalty area, Mane thrashed an unstoppable angled drive beyond Cardiff City goalkeeper Neil Etheridge.
It was the Liverpool winger's first Premier League goal since September 1, a not insignificant weight off his shoulders.
And arguably even better was to come in the closing moments.
Playing the ball to Mohamed Salah just inside the Cardiff half, the Senegalese then sprinted forward between two Cardiff players and gave his team-mate's precision return pass the finish it deserved by deftly lifting the ball over the onrushing Etheridge and into the Kop goal.
The double demonstrated both sides to Mane's game, the power and sheer brute force of his first followed by the delicate touch of his second.
The latter finally settled a curious game in which Jurgen Klopp's side dominated yet for a brief period were in danger until ultimately cruising to a 4-1 triumph to go clear at the top of the Premier League table.
After all, the Reds have now won all 19 of the home matches in which Mane has scored for them.
Mane even held his hands up after the game and accepted the blame for the Callum Paterson goal that ended Liverpool's proud record of having not conceded a home league goal since February.
Few if any were pointing the finger in his direction. But Mane's commitment to the team ethic is such he was willing to take on his share of the blame.
Comments
Post a Comment