Sadio Mané has been one of Southampton’s most spectacularly influential players this season, but it was his hat-trick against Aston Villa last weekend that truly topped off his contributions to the team. Crushing Robbie Fowler’s 1994 record of four minutes 33 seconds, the Senegalese midfielder left supporters and onlookers flabbergasted with two minutes 56 seconds. Despite his pivotal performance during the game, Mané has offered Ronald Koeman and his Saints side unbelievable finery and calibre throughout; let’s take a trip back through his moments of glory during the season so far.
Mané has been present on the pitch during 29 of 37 total games; since joining Saints just last year, he has become an integral chess piece with ten goals and three assists under his belt. This season, no other midfielder has done better bagging goals. However, his style has sometimes been inconsistent; we have witnessed goalless games with minimal action from Mané, but also some matches such as those against Aston Villa, where he has netted at least a couple.
It was not until game week nine that Mané made a bid for success; he scored the only and, therefore, winning goal of the match against Stoke City back in October, which made his mark as a contender. The failed execution of Graziano Pellè’s shot into the net rebounded and saw Mané’s first taste of true joy in red and white stripes. His second goal tallied against Crystal Palace, which started something of a brief trend; Manè’s goals in those games were both, bafflingly, scored in the 17th minute. Bizarre coincidence aside, he and Dušan Tadić cleaned up smoothly against Arsenal the following match week. Ronald Koeman could, undoubtedly, see how excellent a choice the 23-year-old winger had been.
Statistics paint Sadio Mané in a light which shows mixed proficiency; his shot accuracy is not always stellar, playmaking offside is far from by the book, and Koeman has often not chosen him to start. However, irrespective of flaws and attributes on paper, if the ball comes his way, he is in the box and endeavouring to score. That’s the sort of quality absolutely necessary for a bright future at the club.
Southampton currently sit seventh in the league, which is no mean feat considering most of my youth was spent wondering whether they would escape relegation. After Mauricio Pochettino’s departure, it certainly seemed dubious as to whether Saints would bed in sufficiently with a new manager. However, Ronald Koeman has proved himself in spades; the Dutchman has been nothing short of calm, humble and extremely motivational, especially as so many key players also up and left for pastures new after last season. Trawling back through Manè’s achievements at the club, it is clear to see from even this example alone that the new boss has done a grand job handpicking such talented new players.
Between he, Pellè and Shane Long, Aston Villa struggled tirelessly to keep Saints at bay; Premier League teams should know by now that these underdogs from the South have worked extraordinarily hard to find themselves nestled in the top ten. Without Mané, Saints would still have come away victorious and relatively unscathed, but it was his stunning contribution (multiplied by three) that secured such a fluid, fabulous game of football. Long may we see him shine.
