Magnificent Mane, the one who makes the difference as Liverpool show Chelsea who’s boss

If ever a goal could sum up a player, this was it.

Sadio Mane’s pass was poor. A raffle. He was not happy with himself.

So what did he do? Stand up and sulk? Looking for a teammate to blame?

Not a bit.

The Senegalese star of Liverpool is not connected in that way. Instead, Mané attacked the ball and followed it as Kurt Zouma returned it to Kepa Arrizabalaga in Chelsea’s goal.

Kepa’s intention to pass out was a good one, but Mane read it, stretched out a foot to intercept, then fired the fumble into the unguarded net with the goalkeeper struggling.

Liverpool to two to zero. Game, set, match.

It took Mane just 10 minutes, on both sides of halftime, to bend this game at will.

It was he who was fouled, crudely, by Andreas Christensen shortly before half-time, causing the Chelsea defender to be sent off.

Mane’s run, from the outside in, was too good for the Denmark international, as was Jordan Henderson’s pass from deep. The red card, awarded after referee Paul Tierney chose to see his field monitor, was entirely correct. “I knew it was red,” Mane said afterward. Frank Lampard, unsurprisingly, disagreed. The Chelsea boss was wrong.

His team had struggled to contain Liverpool with 11 men, and with 10 they had no chance. Within nine minutes of the restart, Mane had the Premier League champions at home and with the hose.

His first goal was a gem, created by the delightful interaction between Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, with a cross from the latter who forcefully outpointed Kepa for Mane, whose movement in the area was too much for Chelsea right-back Reece James.

Four minutes later came Kepa’s howl, the last in a long line, it must be said. You don’t relax or take risks with Mane around.

“It’s what we train in training camp,” he said. Sky sports After the match. “He tried to pass, but unfortunately for him it was a mistake. Fortunately for me, I got the second goal for my team.”

Mane could have had more reward too. Kepa made a clever save in injury time to deny him a hat-trick, courtesy of a stinging 25-yard shot that deflected Fikayo Tomori. And if Naby Keita’s touch had been a little safer half an hour earlier, I would have been back in business.

That is what happens with Liverpool. If Salah doesn’t catch you, Mane will.

There are already five goals between them, and with the Reds able to debut new signing Thiago Alcantara at Stamford Bridge, the signs are ominous for the chasing group.

Chelsea were certainly no match for them here, even when both teams had 11 players. Lampard’s team opted to sit deep and look to counter through Timo Werner, but the class gulf between the sides in terms of confidence and form of attack was evident long before Christensen’s mishap. There were 33 points between the teams last season, and it showed.

The word is that Chelsea will seek to replicate Liverpool’s success by building a front of three at Stamford Bridge. Good luck to them, but Werner, Kai Havertz, and Christian Pulisic, or Mason Mount, or Hakim Ziyech will have a few to go if they want to get anywhere near the Salah, Mane, or Firmino levels, the latter of which was delivered. a much improved performance as Liverpool’s number 9. These are world-class players, proven performers who still have a lot more miles on the tank.

And so the champions continue. Not at the top of the league at this stage, that honor goes to neighboring Everton after two rounds of matches, but well back in business, and picking up a valuable clean sheet thanks to Alisson Becker’s first penalty save for the club, which ended. to the perfect record of Jorginho from the spot.

If there were any defensive concerns when, with Joe Gomez and Joel Matip absent due to injury, Fabinho was named as central defender, they quickly calmed down. The Brazilian was masterful with Virgil van Dijk. Don’t be surprised to see him play there again as the season progresses. Liverpool are unlikely to buy a defender before the transfer window closes, objective understands. Your business is done.

Today, however, it belonged to Mane. The leading man, the man of the great occasion, the man of the match. The “best player in the league”, according to former Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

What a performance, what a footballer.

Chelsea will surely be glad to see your back.