Sadio Mané may have prolonged his Liverpool career with elite False 9 display

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Sadio Mané played as a False 9 for Liverpool against West Ham United on Saturday evening. It was a display that could prolong his Anfield career.

Jurgen Klopp named a strong XI to face West Ham United but that doesn’t mean his task was easy. After all, he’s got a number of elite forwards to call on now and they can’t all play.

One role, in particular, is interesting, though. Liverpool’s success has come with Roberto Firmino operating as a False 9 but the Brazilian is fairly unique in how he plays. When he’s not there, the Reds are a different team.

And Firmino wasn’t there to face West Ham. Instead, Sadio Mané lined up as a False 9 for Liverpool, with Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah flanking him.

Mané was excellent, too, scoring Liverpool’s winner and just generally playing well. The role isn’t just about scoring, however. The Reds want their centre-forward dropping deep into space and picking up the ball, much in the same way as an attacking midfielder.

The Senegal star did that wonderfully, though. His 75 touches (per Whoscored) were as many as anyone outside of Liverpool’s back four – only Jordan Henderson matched Mané – and he used his time on the ball to create two chances for teammates.

You can’t ask for much more out of a False 9.

Sadio Mané as a False 9 for Liverpool

Mané impressed us and Jurgen Klopp with this one. The boss singled him out after the game, using his no.10 as an example of a ‘top individual performance’.

And it was certainly that. We also think it was an important performance as Mané might be Liverpool’s best bet of replacing Firmino in the team. We’ve written before about Diogo Jota struggling to do that when he plays down the middle but Mané’s versatility could make him a better option.

In doing so, we wonder if he’s prolonging his Liverpool career. Mané only has a little over a year left on his contract but being able to play that False 9 role makes him even more valuable than he already is. It’s a rare player who can do that, after all – rarer still for them to also be a world-class winger.

So when Liverpool assess the future of their forwards this summer, Mané’s performance as a False 9 will weigh heavily in his favour. We expect to see much more of it as the season moves forward.