“… scored 100 goals without a penalty, so that makes a difference for sure. It’s a special number, absolutely.”
Sadio Mane entered the elite ‘100 Club’ after reaching a century of Premier League goals with the opener at Watford on Saturday.
Mane took just nine minutes to put Liverpool ahead at Vicarage Road on Saturday after converting Salah brilliant pass to reach his milestone in a grand style.
He has become the third player to reach 100 Premier League goals without any of them being penalties, joining former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey and ex- Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur hitman Les Ferdinand as players to reach a century of converted efforts without any of them being from the spot
The 29-year-old had already reached a century of goals in all competitions for Liverpool last month and has become the 31st player to reach the landmark since the division was founded in 1992.
THE CENTURY JOURNEY
The Senegal international opened his account for Southampton in a 1-0 win over Stoke in 2014, shortly after signing from RB Salzburg for £3.6m.
Mane scored 21 league goals in two seasons with Southampton before joining Liverpool in 2016 and has reached double digits in all his successive seven top-flight season (including 5 straight season at Anfield)
His career-high haul of 22 in 2018/19 earned him a share of the Golden Boot with team-mate Salah and Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The winger has been most prolific against Crystal Palace in the Premier League – extending his career total against them to 13 goals in the 3-0 win at Anfield this season.
JURGEN KLOPP ON MANE
Jurgen Klopp paid tribute to his winger in the wake of Liverpool’s 5-0 win over Watford.
He told BBC “And the special thing is, we should not forget that Sadio Mane – I’m not sure if he scored penalties for Southampton, not that I know – scored 100 goals without a penalty, so that makes a difference for sure. It’s a special number, absolutely. He should be and will be, hopefully, proud of that.
“That doesn’t happen for a lot of players. You don’t have to talk about Sadio’s quality – he’s a world-class player as well. It’s incredible how good he is. Big day for him, 100 per cent, and I’m really happy for him.”
Mane is third on the list of All-time African highest goal scorer in Premiership ship behind teammate, Salah and former Chelsea striker, Didier Drogba (104 both )and will be looking to add to his tally when they meet arch-rival Manchester United next week.
