Jamie Carragher has lavished Sadio Mane with high praise, comparing him with a Reds legend of the past and saying he is more irreplaceable in terms of Liverpool's title prospects than Mo Salah.
Carragher was speaking on Sky Sports' Monday night Football and left no one under any illusion to how highly he rates the Senegal international.
The Liverpool Echo reported Carragher as saying;
"I think sometimes he goes under the radar.
"You talk about Salah and the goalkeeper (Allison) and the impact these players have had, he's (Mane) the best wide player Liverpool have had in 30 years. You have to go back to John Barnes since Liverpool have had a player like Mane.
"That is big because John Barnes is in my top five or six players to have ever played for Liverpool."
His fellow pundit Gary Neville then asked the legendary Liverpool defender that if he had to choose one of Salah or Mane to miss the key games of the title run-in, which one would it be.
Once again Carra did not hesitate.
"Salah. They have the same amount of goals. I'm a massive fan of Mane.
"Mane is the one that got Liverpool back.
"He was Jurgen Klopp's first big signing. He's been there from the very start."
Carragher knows first hand about the pressure of a title run-in, having lived through it in 2008/9.
In that season, just like this current campaign, the Reds proved a very tough team to beat losing just two games. The current side have lost just once and have some pretty good football betting odds to win the title this season.
However, in 2009 it was the inability to break down well organised defences which led to costly draws that was the main issue, and they eventually finished four points behind Man United.
Carragher said that Mane was just the type of player which would have proved the difference during that season.
"We didn't have a wide player in 2009.
"If you look at the teams that win the title, the wide players stand out massively. If we'd had Mane in 2009, I think we would have won the league."
Carragher is also a big believer of setting the tone in matches. It's all very well getting a double when your team is already 3-0 up, but which player is going to do the hard yards in putting your team on the path of victory.
Carragher said Mane has been the main man in that regard.
"Going through Liverpool's last eleven games and in the first four, Mane got the first goal."
"There are only two other Liverpool players who have scored the first goal in those eleven matches (Roberto Firmino vs Burnley and Tottenham and Naby Keita against Southhampton).
"That's how vital Mane is."
While the overall impact of Salah over the past two seasons is indisputable, without Mane's goals over the past two months, City would be home and hosed in the title race.
Once an unsung hero, Sadio is now getting the recognition he truly deserves.
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