TalkSPORT pundit Ally McCoist has claimed that he learnt something about Liverpool after watching them beat Manchester City on Saturday.
Speaking to TalkSPORT yesterday, McCoist said that Liverpool’s win in the Community Shield made him feel as though they’d get over losing Sadio Mane ‘pretty quickly.’
“I think the one thing from the weekend that we did learn is that Liverpool look as though they’re going to get over the loss of Mane to Bayern Munich pretty quickly, because the striker they’ve brought in looks the real deal,” said the pundit. “So they’ve sent a message to say we ain’t going away, that’s for sure.”
It still remains to be seen how Liverpool cope with Mane’s loss over a full season. But after a goal on Saturday, Darwin Nunez couldn’t have gotten off to a better start.
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Liverpool planned for Mane’s departure about as well as a club possibly can for such a legendary player.
Nunez had been brought in even before the 30-year-old left for Bayern Munich in June. Prior to that, Luis Diaz had already started to fill Mane’s usual left-sided spot in attack.
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As a result, it feels as though Liverpool are perfectly placed to deal with the loss of their number 10. Of course, they will still miss him. Nunez and Diaz are excellent players, but Mane was a bona fide club legend.
Both players have a long way to go before they’re able to match his influence at Anfield both on and off the pitch. Early signs are good, though.
It’s also worth pointing out that with Mohamed Salah still around, Liverpool have retained their most clinical goal scorer.
It isn’t as though Nunez and Diaz are attempting to carry the scoring burden all alone. Salah has shouldered the bulk of that weight over the last five years and will continue to do so next season.
Excitement over what Nunez can bring to Jurgen Klopp’s team is at an all-time high after his display on Saturday. Expectations should be tempered, but Liverpool do look to have signed themselves another gem.