JAKARTA - Sadio Mane reveals the secret behind his prime appearance at Liverpool. This season, the Senegalese striker is increasingly dominant.
Mane won the 2019 African Player of the Year award last month, after helping the Reds to the Champions League trophy in June. In 36 Premier League games last season, Mane also scored 24 goals and provided six assists.
Now, he helps Jurgen Klopp's team top the Premier League standings with a 22-point advantage over second-placed Manchester City. This season is a great opportunity for Mane and the Reds to win their first Premier League title in 30 years.
Mane - moving to Anfield from Southampton in 2016 - said the support from his friends and family in his home village of Bambali was key to the sparkling appearance of Mane.
"I can't describe how motivated they are. They always give me encouragement," Mane, who started his career in France with Metz, told Liverpool's official website.
"If you look at those people, you try harder and harder to make them proud because that's the only satisfaction they have. I have to give back what they have done for me," continued Mane.
Mane feels that what the people in his village are doing is something special. You see, there, there are a lot of great players but nothing ever works.
"When I came to France and at that time I was playing the second division of the French League, our village didn't have a channel to watch the games in the second division, so everyone was very happy the first time they saw me on TV!
"They pray for me every day to see me at this level because they will be proud. How are things and when I get more motivated and [they] get more excited to see me getting taller, I think I have to sacrifice myself to make them proud."
Mane has not featured since suffering a hamstring problem in the first half of Liverpool's 2-1 win over Wolves on 23 January. But this week he has returned to training.
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