Mane joins Gerrard and Salah in exclusive Liverpool goalscoring club

Sadio Mane has joined Steven Gerrard and Mohamed Salah in exclusive company as the Liverpool winger scored the opening goal in the Reds’ Champions League clash with Red Bull Salzburg.

Mane scored within the first nine minutes at Anfield on Wednesday, helping ease nerves after Liverpool slumped to defeat against Napoli in their European opener.

Playing against his former club, Mane combined effortlessly with Roberto Firmino, who slid the winger in for a first-time finish to give Liverpool the early lead.

The goal was Mane’s 15th Champions League goal for Liverpool, and first European goal of the campaign, as he joined the likes of Gerrard and Salah in an exclusive club.

Mane, Salah and Gerrard are the only three Liverpool players to score 15 Champions League goals for Liverpool, with Salah one ahead of Mane on 16 after scoring later in the first half on Wednesday.

However, the two current Liverpool stars continue to chase Gerrard’s record of 21 goals for the club in Europe.

The Senegal international scored four goals en route to the Champions League title last season, including two goals against Bayern Munich in the last16 and a goal against Porto in the quarter-finals.

15 – Sadio Mané is the third Liverpool player to score 15 Champions League goals, after Steven Gerrard (21) and Mohamed Salah (15). Pedigree. pic.twitter.com/vOJj290M8E

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 2, 2019

However, it was the campaign prior where Mane truly made his mark as he scored 10 goals in 13 matches as Liverpool lost the Champions League final to Real Madrid.

Mane scored in each leg of the semi-final against Roma before netting Liverpool’s only goal of the final, a 3-1 loss to Madrid after two goals from Gareth Bale and a further finish from Karim Benzema.

Liverpool ended up doubling their advantage over Salzburg 16 minutes later through Andrew Robertson, who fired home an assist from fellow full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold to push the scoreline to 2-0.

With that goal, Robertson became the first Scotsman to score for Liverpool in European competition since Gary McAllister scored against Alavés in the 2001 UEFA Cup final.

Liverpool went into halftime with a 3-1 lead, with Red Bull Salzburg’s Hwang Hee-chan scoring in the 39th minute to give the visitors a lifeline.