If there is just one Liverpool player who would walk – if he is even capable of moving so slowly – into any other team in the Premier League, it is Sadio Mane. Even Manchester City, who have spent so much under Pep Guardiola and boast such a vast array of attacking options, must look on enviously at a player who is making his claim as the most dynamic and deadly attacker in the league.

The Catalan coach will get a first-hand look at Mane on Saturday, when City host Liverpool, and will no doubt be reminded of his unsuccessful hunt for a player to provide a more clinical edge to his own, often profligate attack. Guardiola had wanted Alexis Sanchez, who stood apart with Eden Hazard last season as the Premier League’s most exciting attackers; Give it a few more months, and Mane might just usurp them both.

Mane has as many goals (3) as Romelu Lukaku this season, but a better strike and conversion rate (Picture: Getty)
Mane has as many goals (3) as Romelu Lukaku this season, but a better strike and conversion rate (Picture: Getty)
Mane, as is so often the case, was the catalyst for Liverpool’s four-goal destruction of Arsenal (Picture: Getty)
Mane, as is so often the case, was the catalyst for Liverpool’s four-goal destruction of Arsenal (Picture: Getty)

The Senegalese star’s importance to Liverpool was obvious last season, offering a mix of speed and directness previously absent from their team. Such was their dependence on that particular concoction of attacking drive, they did not win a match without him until April, and duly broke their transfer record to sign the similarly skilled Mohamed Salah to ease the burden.

But Mane is so much more than a pure pace merchant, so much more than the beast moniker that is attributed to players with his explosiveness. Lightning-fast though he may be, the 25-year-old is also a supreme manipulator of space, a creator, a reliable out-ball and a goalscorer all wrapped into one package. And, unlike many of his peers who are freed from defensive duties to allow their creativity to flow, he is also a key part of Liverpool’s counter-press.

Wherever the Reds finish in the Premier League this season, their position in the table is likely to be affected more by their performances against the smaller teams than against their top-six rivals. They have been dominant in such high-profile games since Jurgen Klopp took charge in October 2015, with their record against the division’s lesser, more stubborn lights their real Achilles Heel.

Klopp’s gegenpressing, transplanted onto Liverpool from his time at Borussia Dortmund, is a fine-tuned machine that few of the Premier League’s biggest sides are used to facing. They are given no time on the ball, no sooner winning back possession before they are swarmed by another wave of red shirts. Liverpool press as one with ferocious speed, something regularly seen in the Bundesliga but less common in England.

Sadio Mane's 2017/18 Premier League stats

Minutes played: 254
Goals scored: 3
Total shots: 9
Shots on target: 7
Shooting accuracy: 78%
Shot conversion rate: 33%
Chances created: 3
Mins per shot or chance: 20

It is particularly hard for teams who play out from the back, like City will on Saturday, inviting passes only to shut off the opportunity. It has been so effective that Liverpool went the entirety of last season without suffering defeat against the rest of the top six. In fact, they have lost just one of 19 matches against their rivals under Klopp, compared to 12 of 28 under predecessor Brendan Rodgers.

At some point, the bigger sides may need to reassess and sacrifice their very footballing philosophies when they take on Liverpool. Drop a little deeper, give up more territory; play like the minnows Klopp struggles against. But Guardiola will not do that, and that in turn makes Mane an even bigger threat. He is terrifying enough against a team parking the bus, but against a side trying to play expansive football he is almost unstoppable.

Guardiola is unlikely to adjust his style when facing Liverpool, which will create opportunities for Mane (Picture: Getty)

There’s a simplicity to the way he plays. Slowing down and luring defenders close before accelerating away and creating space with a one-two, or feigning inside and then unleashing a shot towards goal. But it is a simplicity that is hard to master.

No Liverpool player scored more league goals than Mane last season – and he’s already the division’s joint top scorer this term; Only Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino successfully completed more dribbles, accounting for a fifth of Liverpool’s total number; And only the club’s Brazilian duo laid on more chances. All this despite missing a third of the season.

Mane is the deadliest weapon in the rich and varied attacking arsenal that Liverpool have collected (Picture: Getty)
Klopp recognised Liverpool’s reliance on pace so signed Mohamed Salah and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Picture: Getty)

When Mane plays, Liverpool are both significantly more likely to win – their win rate dropped 18 per cent when he was absent last season – and significantly more likely to score. Their number of shots on target dropped by 25% without the former Southampton man, they created fewer clear-cut chances and racked up fewer touches inside the opposition’s box.

Even beyond the numbers, Mane’s impact is obvious. His incessant, direct running creates space for others to operate in and spreads chaos even against settled backlines. He may not score the goal, he may not assist the goal, and he may not even play the pass before the assist, but his presence is felt. Increasingly, when Liverpool require inspiration, it is Mane – not Coutinho – that the rest of the team look to, and the rest of the league look to stop.

Mane has come to typify all the best qualities of Klopp’s Liverpool, the relentless energy, the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it speed of attacks and an almost unparalleled work rate. If he can stay fit and available throughout the campaign then he can spearhead Liverpool’s best title shot in years and not just escape the shadows of Hazard and Sanchez, but cast a new one.