When Sadio Mané's working day ended after 76 minutes of the meeting with Mainz on Saturday afternoon, the Senegalese experienced the full force of his coach's gratitude. Before Mané was allowed to make himself comfortable on the bench next to his teammates, Julian Nagelsmann hugged the attacker, congratulating him on a strong performance: At the time of Mané's substitution, Bayern led 4-1 at home to the Zerofivers - with the 30-year-old having a hand in three of the four goals.
Praise from Nagelsmann
"I'm very happy about Sadio's performance today," Nagelsmann said, praising his protégé at the post-match press conference, "He scored today, his assist for Leon Goretza was an important goal after half-time. I'm pleased with how he played today and how he did in Barcelona during the week."
Directly involved in three FCB goals for the first time
On Wednesday in the Champions League, Mané scored in the 10th minute of the 3-0 win over Barcelona to make it 1-0, and now he got going even earlier in the 6-2 success against Mainz. In the fifth minute, he provided a precise cross to set up Serge Gnabry, who scored after his own three assists during the week. Shortly before the break, Africa's Footballer of the Year was felled in the box by Alexander Hack. Mané saw his 43rd minute penalty kick saved, but scored his sixth goal of the season from the rebound. The forward then put his personal finishing touch to the game with a superb cross for Leon Goretzka, who made it 4-1 in the 58th minute.
This was the first time Mané had been directly involved in three goals in a competitive match for FC Bayern - the last time the winger had achieved this was in December 2019 for Liverpool in the Merseyside derby against Everton. He also continued his personal run at the Allianz Arena, with goals in his last three home games. With that, he also notched up his first two assists in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Behind this strong performance is hard work: against Mainz alone, Mané took seven shots on goal and laid off six for his colleagues - clearly the most of anyone in either instance.
Great form in a familiar role
His coach explained how the Senegalese international's form has improved with a change in role on the pitch: "He has developed well in the last few weeks, hugging the touchline more, so we have more space in the middle and have chances where we can speed the game up. He did that brilliantly for years at Liverpool," Nagelsmann explained: "I hope he continues like that in the next few games." On Tuesday, in the final Champions League group match against Inter Milan, Mané has the opportunity to fulfil his coach's wish.
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