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Luis Suárez was the last to be overcome, not that Sadio Mane knew it.
Mane’s second-half double at Stamford Bridge last weekend not only gave Liverpool a 2-0 win over Chelsea and three more points in the Premier League.
With the double, the Senegalese international made a historic leap in the club’s list of all-time top scorers, to rank among the 20 best shooters to represent the Reds.
With 83 goals in his 173 appearances for Liverpool, Mane is now ranked 19th with Albert Stubbins and is likely to approach the century mark over the course of the season.
“I didn’t know before, sure,” No. 10 told Liverpoolfc.com. “I am very, very proud and very happy about that because as a player you always have goals and it is one of my goals.
“So I’m in the top 20 scorers [now] and I am very happy about that. I really want to score more and more goals for the team and be closer [to the rest of the names on the list]. “
The double in the capital opened Mane’s account for the campaign and showed two of the ways the forward can prove so problematic for opponents.
The former was created by fellow forwards Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah and, having found a meter of clearance, he emphatically leaned into the left post through his head.
Four minutes later, his perseverance and pace came to light when Mane, further motivated by frustration from conceding possession seconds earlier, chased after Kepa Arrizabalaga and blocked his punt before sliding on the rebound.
“I’m very happy, of course I’m very happy especially as a striker for scoring goals and winning the team, it’s one of the best things that can happen to you,” he reflected.
“As a team we played very well and we both won [Premier League] games, which was really important to us. Now we are looking forward to the next game, at home against Arsenal ”.
Sunday’s game was also notable for Thiago Alcantara’s Liverpool debut.
Signed from Bayern Munich two days earlier, the Spanish international jumped onto the pitch at the start of the second half and immediately broke a Premier League record.
Thiago completed 75 passes, the most any player has recorded in a maximum of 45 minutes since that data began to be collected in the top flight in 2003-04.
Mane was delighted to host the midfielder and expressed his belief that Thiago, Diogo Jota and Kostas Tsimikas can help raise the level of the champions even further.
“I think it’s not just the fans who are excited to see Thiago,” he said. “Of course, especially my teammates and I were very happy to have this kind of quality in our team. It only makes us better.
“I can see from day one in training and the game against Chelsea what he’s doing. And I’m sure it will take us to another level, for sure. And we are looking forward to seeing Kostas and Diogo Jota as well, who is a very good signing for us. I am very happy to have him too.
“They are good players and they will also take us to another level, which is incredible for us, and for the fans as well.”
