Liverpool’s Sadio Mane could have a lot of joy against Barcelona’s full-backs in the Champions League semi-final.
The Senegalese speedster is in the form of his life heading into the game in Catalonia.
And he will be licking his lips at the prospect of running at Sergi Robero and Nelson Semedo for 90 minutes.
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Sadio Mané is flying, recently notching his twentieth Premier League goal and he’s in fine form in Europe again.
He’s scored four goals and provided three assists in Europe so far this season, a goal contribution every 126 minutes.
In Semedo and Roberto, Sadio Mané’s up against two very modern day full-backs; they both attack better than they defend.
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They’re similar in essence to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson – they love making forays forward into enemy territory.
They will have to reign this in against Liverpool, as Mané will punish them if they abandon their defensive duties.
Sadio Mané’s intelligent, plays on the shoulder and has blistering pace and skill so any space he’s left he’ll exploit.
It’s fair to say that in La Liga, they will also not come up against opposition as talented as Mané.
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Their defensive prowess will rarely be put to the test as much as it will against Mané on Wednesday.
True, there’s players like Bale, Griezmann and Lemar, but outside the top sides there’s lesser quality.
Premier League full-backs like Liverpool’s are far more regularly pitted against higher class opponents, and this could work against Barcelona.
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Semedo and Roberto will be up against dominant defenders when going forward, but also pinned back against a high-flying Mané.
Mané will be looking to run at them every time he gets the ball and provide a useful outlet.
Not only that, he can hurt Barcelona down the wings and help Liverpool take the advantage in the tie.