Alisson: Why Senegal's Mane is more confident

Sadio Mane of Senegal won Player of the tournament during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Afcon Finals Final match between Senegal and Egypt held at Olembe Stadium in Yaounde, Cameroon on 06 February 2022 ©Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix

by Staff Reporter

Thursday May 12, 2022. 11:19

Senegalese star Sadio Mane’s successful 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign is the inspiration behind his excellent recent form with Liverpool FC.

This is according to Mane’s Liverpool teammate Alisson Becker after the world-class winger scored the winning goal against Aston Villa on Tuesday, helping the Reds keep the pressure on Premier League leaders Manchester City.

Mane also scored in both legs of the successful UEFA Champions League semi-final against Spanish club Villarreal FC and he helped the Reds reach the final of the European tournament for the 10th time.

“Sadio is amazing and all the time he is helping us,” Alisson, who is Brazil and Liverpool’s first-choice goalkeeper, told the club’s website. “I believe he is even more confident because of the Africa Cup of Nations title. Liverpool website.

“He is scoring and helping us in the games, playing in a different position to what he was used to playing. A fantastic player for us and I’m really happy to have him on my team.”

Mane has been in great form since he returned to Liverpool in February from Cameroon where he had inspired Senegal to their first-ever AFCON title and he was named Player of the Tournament.

The 30-year-old has scored 12 goals from 22 matches across all competitions for Liverpool since the AFCON finals — exceeding his xG of 10.6.

His shot conversion rate has leapt to 25 per cent and he’s been averaging a goal every 133 minutes.