Roberto Firmino has been getting a lot of flak for his inability to find the back of the net on a regular basis this season, but he’s only scored one fewer league goal than Sadio Mane this term.
The Brazilian has been panned left, right and centre for not being prolific enough, but we’ve heard very little about Mane’s struggles in front of goal in comparison.
Of course, league goals are only one piece of the puzzle, and when you factor in cup competitions, Mane’s numbers look a lot more healthy, but he’s still only got two goals in the Champions League this term, and that’s not what you’d expect from a player of his calibre.
Seven goals in 22 league games isn’t the worst return in the world, but when you’re a former Golden Boot winner, you need to be scoring at a more regular rate.
Now, this isn’t an invitation to pile-on Mane, his game is often about so much more than goals and he’s still been decent this season.
However, with that said, goals win you games, and while Mane has perpetually been a reliable threat in front of goal, that side of his game has deserted him at times this season.
Is Mane playing badly? Not particularly, and when he does have a good game, he’s a class above everyone else, with Jurgen Klopp describing him as ‘undefendable’ earlier this season, but when you’ve set a standard as high as he has in recent times, you expect more.
It just seems a little unfair that Firmino’s goalscoring is being lambasted so often when his role isn’t primarily about finding the back of the net, while Mane escapes this kind of criticism despite his numbers only being slightly better than the Brazilians.
There are a number of Liverpool players who need to move up a gear after the Reds’ recent struggles, and Mane is certainly one of those.
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