AFCON absence highlights how crucial Mane is for labouring Liverpool

It was a day that started with a dream but ended in a nightmare for Liverpool. While they trailed 1-0 in the EFL Cup semi-final, they had every reason to be confident of overturning the deficit to secure their spot at Wembley. Liverpool hadn’t failed to score in back-to-back League Cup games since August 1979, nor had the succumbed to successive competitive losses at Anfield since October 2012. Records, however, are there to be broken. Shane Long’s late strike confirmed Southampton’s spot in the EFL Cup final as they frustrated the Reds to ensure they became the first team to secure a place in the competition’s final without conceding a goal en-route to the final. 

Wednesday started so well for Reds supporters as well, who were treated to the news that Philippe Coutinho had signed a new five-year deal at Anfield on Wednesday morning. What’s more, Joel Matip’s return to the starting XI was met with fanfare. The Cameroonian was a free signing from Schalke over the summer and has shown his influence time and time again at the heart of the Liverpool defence. Due to administrative issues and injury problems, Matip’s midweek start was his first in all competitions since a 2-2 draw with West Ham in early December. 

Yet, there wasn’t a fairytale end to the day on the back of the loss to Saints, who prior to Wednesday’s trip to Merseyside had won just three competitive games away from home all season. While many will point to a resolute defensive display by Southampton across the 180 minutes of action as the reason behind their progression to the final, it’s only really a half truth. The absence of Sadio Mane has proven to be far more difficult to handle than many originally anticipated. 

Mane is currently with the Senegal national team at the Africa Cup of Nations, where they face Cameroon in the quarter-final of the competition. Ivory Coast’s elimination means the Lions of Teranga are favourites to secure their first AFCON title and if they did so, Liverpool would be without their big money summer signing until early February. As effective as Coutinho and Roberto Firmino may be, they have struggled without Mane alongside them and Liverpool’s results have mirrored this. The 1-0 loss to Saints in midweek was the ninth game of the season that Mane has not started for the Reds, of which Liverpool have won just three, all cup games against Derby, an understrength Spurs and an FA Cup replay with Plymouth. 

Comparatively, of the 21 competitive matches Mane has started for Liverpool, Klopp’s side have won 15. It goes without saying that the 24-year-old has enjoyed a fine start to life on Merseyside. Nine goals and four assists has contributed to a WhoScored rating of 7.57, the seventh best in the Premier League this season, and it’s surely only a matter of time upon his return to domestic duties that he breaks the double-figure goal barrier for a third successive league season. Coutinho and Firmino also rank among the 10 top rated Premier League players this term, which only reinforces the impact the trio have made in England’s top tier. 

Without Mane, though, Liverpool fail to have the same effect in the final third, lacking the pace that he offers to get in behind opposition defences. They may have scored more goals (51) than any other Premier League team this season, but when Mane hasn’t started there’s a lack of quality replacement to ensure the high standards are maintained. Indeed, in the 21 competitive games Mane has started this term, Liverpool have scored 55 goals, an average of 2.6 per game. In the nine he hasn’t started, the Reds have bagged just 10 goals, an average of 1.1 per game. The unpredictability in the final third is of huge importance to the way Klopp sets his side up, with the dynamism ensuring the Reds have one of the most fluid attacks in the country. 

The Senegalese star averages more successful dribbles per game (2.5) than any other Liverpool player, which further reinforces how effective he is with the ball at his feet. Without Mane, the Reds simply aren’t as dangerous in the final third, with Daniel Sturridge’s latest outing a further testament to this. The England international played the full 90 minutes against Southampton, yet his WhoScored rating (5.94) was lower than any other player on the pitch with just one of his four shots on goal hitting the target. Sturridge may thrive in a particular set up that requires his goalscoring expertise, but under Klopp, he needs his frontman to take up all three offensive positions when needed. 

Sturridge is unable to perform the adequate attacking duties that Mane, Coutinho and Firmino all carry out meaning space is at a premium in front of goal, with the 27-year-old better deployed as the focal point of the attack rather than dropping deeper or pulling wide, akin to Firmino. Divock Origi may be a stronger physical presence than Sturridge, but the duo still fail to reach the level of Mane. The summer arrival’s constant movement means he routinely ties up opposition defenders and midfielders, who struggle to contain him when he features. In that regard Sturridge and Origi are easier to mark out of the game, which is part of the reason why Liverpool are struggling without Mane. 

After ending 2016 on a high that saw Liverpool secure wins over Everton and Manchester City, 2017 has been nothing short of a nightmare for the Reds who now need a positive result against Wolves on Saturday to help shake themselves out of their current slump before a vital meeting with Chelsea next week. They must take the chance to prove they can perform without Mane if they are to come away from the upcoming run of fixtures unscathed, but the attacker’s return from Gabon can’t came soon enough, with Liverpool’s scalpel-sharp attack far more blunt in his absence.