At a time of fierce competition in the Premier League between Jurgen Klopp and Josep Guardiola, Senegalese international Sadio Mane, who was part of the front three at Liverpool, and Manchester City right-back Kyle Walker were in the midst of a bickeringbattled it out.
The legend made a total of 269 appearances for Anfield, scoring 120 goals and providing 42 assists. Along with Andy Robertson, he plays on the left flank and can be the starting point for fast counters. He did not neglect to return when defending and played a match against the defenders he faced until the end of the game.
The player left Liverpool two years ago, but at Bayern Munich he did not fit in with the team and had a falling out with team-mates, forcing him to leave for Saudi Arabia after just one year.
He scored 19 goals in 45 games for Al-Nassr and, despite the low level of the league, he is returning to shine in the final stages of his career.
The England defender, who had a number of great games on the pitch during the former Southampton forward’s heyday, confessed that playing against the player was a nightmare and that he was aware of it to cope at the time.
“Sadio Mane was a nightmare for me,”
“He was more raw.”
“He had certain movements he would do. I think he was playing in a very, very good Liverpool side. Him, [Mohamed] Salah, [Roberto] Firmino – who was dropping deep.”
“He’s one of the most difficult because he’s so off the cuff.”
“I’d always watch a lot of clips. He still has movements, repetitions, that they do in the game that they like,”
“You also go with your strengths. He’s not going to knock it down the line and try to run me because he’s worried I’ll get my arm across and win the ball.”
“He likes a one-two so I’m giving myself a metre distance where I can – then get back in case I need to get on the other side.”
BBC podcast You’ll Never Beat Kyle Walker