Why Salah & Mane’s campaigns aren’t done despite title win

When Liverpool’s Premier League title win was confirmed, the immediate aftermath focused on just how Jurgen Klopp’s side would approach the rest of the campaign.

Despite Manchester City’s 100-point haul being within reach, some observers suggested the German tactician could ease off for the rest of the campaign, try out players on the periphery and use the rest of the competition as a mini preseason.

Others defiantly stated the Reds’ main aim had to be surpassing Pep Guardiola’s Centurions. On the evidence of Sunday’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa and 3-1 success over Brighton & Hove Albion, the newly-crowed champions are doing both.

Case in point is Naby Keita, who was one player tipped to benefit from the Merseyside giants’ early title success. He’s provided two assists in both games, setting up Sadio Mane at Anfield before playing in Mohamed Salah at the Amex on Wednesday night.

2 – Naby Keïta has assisted a goal in consecutive @premierleague games for Liverpool after having only assisted two in his first 37 appearances for the club in the competition beforehand. Developing. pic.twitter.com/JXYc6x130e

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 8, 2020

Incidentally, both forwards have individual achievements in their sights and were never expected to let up despite the team’s collective feat.

Having won the Golden Boot last season, jointly with Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the duo have been in and around the Prem’s leading scorers this year again.

The willingness of their teammates to help either or both of them achieve the feat was clear against Villa at the weekend and especially vs Brighton in midweek. Against the Seagulls, Roberto Firmino’s altruism in letting Keita’s ball run on to Salah for the champions’ opener was noteworthy while Andrew Robertson’s attempts to feed both frontmen late on caught the eye.

In the 93rd-minute on Wednesday, despite being 3-1 up at the time, the Egypt star made an exerted effort to get into the box hoping for a Robertson cross. The left-back cut-back to Mane, whose curling effort narrowly missed. Salah wasn’t best pleased.

A minute later, he was thwarted by Matt Ryan as he sought his third Liverpool hat-trick. The 2018 Golden Boot winner should’ve claimed his third treble in the final minute of stoppage time when he headed the Scot’s pin-point cross just over.

100 – Mo Salah has reached 100 goal involvements for @LFC in the @premierleague (73 goals, 27 assists in 104 apps), becoming just the fourth player to do so for the Reds after Steven Gerrard (212), Robbie Fowler (158) and Michael Own (148). Century. pic.twitter.com/MmXjvn3l8F

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 8, 2020

When everyone else seemed to be taking it easy in the final moments, the two-time African Footballer of the Year was thinking of edging closer to the pair of Jamie Vardy (22) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (21).

His brace on Tuesday puts him in third on 19 goals, one above Southampton’s Danny Ings and three ahead of Mane. With only four games remaining, the Senegalese retaining the award may be a bridge too far.

Indeed, with Vardy seemingly finding his scoring boots again (he’s scored three times in two games) after a barren run that saw him hit the back of the net a miserly twice in 11 matches, and Auba unrelenting, Mane may have run out of games to supplant the four prolific forwards in front of him.

Unless the forward suddenly goes on a streak, he may have to throw his weight behind his North African teammate, too. In truth, chances of the continent’s best player scoring bucket-loads in the final four gameweeks are difficult given the nature of Liverpool’s fixtures.

They host Sean Dyche’s organised Burnley this weekend, travel to Aubameyang’s Arsenal a week on Wednesday, welcome Chelsea in their final game at Anfield this season before travelling to Newcastle United on the final day. On paper, none of these fixtures are games you’d predict Mane to rack up enough goals to put himself in contention for the award, even if the Magpies were trounced 5-0 by City on Wednesday.

Leicester’s run-in, barring this weekend’s fixture at Bournemouth isn’t easy in theory. Vardy faces Sheffield United, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, two of whom have the best rearguards in the division.

Aubameyang faces two tough tests in Spurs, this weekend’s North London Derby, and Liverpool who visit the Emirates Stadium next week. Thereafter, though, Mikel Arteta’s troops face Aston Villa and Watford, teams that have conceded 62 and 53 goals respectively, statistically two of the worst six defences in the Prem.

In truth, Mane may be realistically out of the race, but there’s a feeling he won’t be giving up so easily. Thus, it’ll be interesting to see the XI Klopp sends out against the Clarets on Saturday, with his top forwards chasing achievements they claimed last season.

Salah, a two-time winner, is looking to match feats by Alan Shearer (1995-1997) and Thierry Henry (2004-2006) as the third player in the competition’s history to win three Golden Boots in a row, while Mane is looking to win his second award.

The reverse fixture with Burnley at Turf Moor was somewhat marred by the ex-Southampton man’s annoyance at the North African’s unwillingness to pass to him or better-placed colleagues on several occasions.

Given what’s now at stake, don’t be surprised if either forward is accused of being concerned chiefly with his interest in claiming individual glory to match the club’s historic Premier League success.