Sadio Mane goes viral after 155 seconds against Arsenal

Sadio Mane, Liverpool (Photo by Paul Ellis - Pool/Getty Images)
Sadio Mane, Liverpool (Photo by Paul Ellis - Pool/Getty Images)

Liverpool star Sadio Mane went viral after 155 seconds.

The Senegalese forward was part of the side who took on Arsenal at Anfield on Monday night and he didn’t take long to make his presence felt.

He clipped Hector Bellerin in the back of the knees before taking down Kieran Tierney with an elbow that saw him carded.

Sadio Mane was handed a yellow but it could have been a red as the one-time Barcelona target backed into Tierney before swinging a bit of an elbow. On a social media eager to kick off, this caused a bit of mild hysteria.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp picked a team that included few surprises. Alisson was deemed fit enough to take part after a minor injury scare, Joe Gomez resumed duties next to Virgil van Dijk and Fabinho was back in midfield.

Naby Keita was given another chance to impress and this could be the start of something serious for Keita; fitness permitting.

Up top it was the usual trio of Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.

After beating Leeds and Chelsea in the opening two games, Liverpool will want to lay down a marker against another one of the traditional ‘big six’ Premier League sides.

https://twitter.com/goal/status/1310656993665802241

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has got the better of Klopp in their last two games, although there are mitigating circumstances surrounding each loss.

Last season’s league defeat came after Liverpool were crowned league winners and featured uncharacteristic errors from van Dijk and Alisson, while the Community Shield win came on penalties against an understrength side.

There should be no danger of that happening on Monday night. Klopp  has picked his strongest side, although Mane was nearly off after less than three minutes.

He’s going to have to be careful for the rest of the game and we’ve seen opposition defenders wind up the Senegalese forward. Arsenal will be keen to do the same, but Mane needs to keep a cool head.