5 players who look like a shadow of their former selves 

Sadio Mane
Sadio Mane

#3 Dele Alli - Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur v Dinamo Zagreb - UEFA Europa League Round Of 16 Leg One
Tottenham Hotspur v Dinamo Zagreb - UEFA Europa League Round Of 16 Leg One

The narrative here will be a bit more lenient as Dele Alli was one of the scapegoats for all of Jose Mourinho's shortcomings at Tottenham Hotspur. Alli will be one of the most relieved players in the Spurs camp now that Jose Mourinho has been given the sack.

The Englishman got off to a flying start under the 'Special One' but was soon ostracized from the squad as his numbers started to dip. A few years back, Alli was one of the most impressive youngsters in the world. He is now 25 and hardly playing for his side.

Hopefully, that will change now. But he has scored just two goals and provided three assists in 21 appearances and all of his goals and assists have come in the Europa League. There's a lot of ability there and we hope Spurs can find a manager who can bring the best out of him.

#2 Sadio Mane - Liverpool

Real Madrid v Liverpool FC - UEFA Champions League Quarter Final: Leg One
Real Madrid v Liverpool FC - UEFA Champions League Quarter Final: Leg One

Just a season ago, Liverpool looked like an unstoppable force. Fast forward to the 2020-21 season and a few injuries later, Jurgen Klopp's unit are looking rather average. While losing three of their first-choice centre-backs has definitely added to their troubles, their attackers' underwhelming performances have certainly not helped.

Sadio Mane is the chief culprit while Bobby Firmino has not exactly covered himself in glory either. Mane scored 18 goals and provided seven assists in the Premier League last term. He only has eight goals and five assists in the Premier League this time around.

Worse yet, Mane seems to have lost that chemistry with Salah and seems to consistently make some poor decisions in the final third.

#1 Paulo Dybala - Juventus

Atalanta BC v Juventus - Serie A
Atalanta BC v Juventus - Serie A

From being touted as the successor to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Paulo Dybala has almost faded into irrelevance this season. The Argentine's season has been hampered by injury and an inability to fit into Andrea Pirlo's plans at Juventus.

Dybala couldn't break into the starting XI for a while in the beginning of the season. But when he eventually did, he struggled to produce anything of note. Having played just 20 games across all competitions this term, Paulo Dybala has scored just four goals and provided two assists this term.

He has not been able to agree a new deal with Juventus either and is now tipped to depart in the summer. Dybala came close to leaving Juventus in the summer of 2019. But he stayed put and proved how important he is in the 2019-20 season. That's why his fall from grace this season is quite upsetting.

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Edited by Shambhu Ajith
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