Liverpool absolutely tore the Barcelona defence apart in a commanding display at Wembley. The Merseyside club were 4-0 victors and at the heart of the impressive display was the pace and guile of Liverpool’s new acquisition Sadio Mane.
Liverpool secured Mane’s signing from Southampton for a fee of £30 million and although some eyebrows were raised at the amount, he seems to be an excellent addition to Jurgen Klopp’s squad.
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Adam Lallana who also previously played for Southampton spoke of his admiration for the pacy winger:
"I knew straight away what he was about. I knew what he was going to bring to the team, regardless of what everyone has seen in pre-season," he said.
"You saw all those different parts against Barcelona but I saw them all in his first couple of sessions with us.
"We have seen it from working with him what he can do. I was never worried about him settling. He could have had a goal against AC Milan but it didn't matter.
"I could see what he was going to bring to this team. He is different to what we have got. He is unpredictable."
Mane had a particulary impressive game, scoring one and setting up another goal. He also caused plenty of problems on the flanks for the Barcelona defence:
"Sadio can go down the outside, he can come inside, he has got a goal in his locker like he produced against Barcelona," added Lallana.
"He's a very good addition to the squad, believe me. I think we have got loads of different players who can play loads of different positions.
"The manager has got decisions to make but it is great for the squad, to have that competition for places."
Also read: Sadio Mane reveals he turned down Manchester United to join Liverpool
Liverpool have some injury concerns ahead of their opening Premier League game against Arsenal and with Daniel Sturridge, Dejan Lovren, James Milner and Marko Grujic all doubtful for the game.
Mane, Coutinho, Lallana and Roberto Firmino have all linked up well in pre-season and it will be very interesting to see how Liverpool line up in their opening game. The game’s other goalscorer Divock Origi spoke about his delight after scoring against Barcelona. Speaking to Goal, Origi said:
“It was great scoring against Barcelona. I said before the game that we had a great chance to win even though we knew it would be a difficult game against top opponents.
“We have to remember it’s only pre-season, but this is also a good thing for us and our development.
“We just have to keep on working and try to carry the qualities we showed going forward.”
