Mané as a driver in the Bayern game: is he already one of the leading players at FCB?

Created: 2022-10-13 13:53

By: Philipp Kuserau

Sadio Mané scored after just ten minutes against Pilsen.

© IMAGO/Eibner-Pressefoto/Bert Harzer

Sadio Mané and FC Bayern make it through to the knockout stages by winning at Pilsen.

The offensive star is increasingly becoming a leading player.

Munich – At first the evening in Pilsen seemed to be an easy gallop for FC Bayern Munich.

After the clear 5-0 win in the first leg, a somewhat more defensive stance on the part of the Czechs was to be expected, but this assumption turned out to be wrong quite early on in the game.

After just 35 minutes it was 4-0 for Bayern and the game was actually decided.

In the second round, however, the sluggishness returned to Bayern's game and the hosts reduced it again to 2:4.

Mané opens the scoring against Pilsen and shows a strong performance

Over the entire duration of the game, Viktoria not only limited himself to building a defensive bulwark at the back, but also tried to play along and also pose problems for the Bavarian defense.

In the first half hour, much to the chagrin of their own defence, because Sadio Mané, Thomas Müller and double goal scorer Leon Goretzka used the space they were given to score four goals in the first half.

Mané, who recently revealed the problems of his early days at Bayern, opened the scoring in the tenth minute after a one-two with Goretzka.

For more than 90 minutes, the Senegalese was one of the offensive assets in Bayern's game, who traveled to Pilsen with a very thin squad due to numerous absentees.

In addition to his goal, Mané had 53 ball contacts, had a very good pass rate of 88 percent and repeatedly caused danger in the one-on-one duels.

Mané as a driver in the Bayern game - BVB game as a warning example

Also striking: when Bayern slowed down more than one gear in the second half and made more and more mistakes, it was Mané who encouraged his team-mates to stay focused.

The game against Dortmund, when Bayern equalized to make it 2-2 in the fifth minute of added time after a 2-0 lead, was probably still on his mind at the time.

Again and again Mané could be seen gesturing with his arms and urging the team to keep moving, to widen the game and not to stop the offensive game completely.

The scene shows that the 30-year-old, who almost ended up at Manchester United before moving to Liverpool, is taking on more and more responsibility within the team and also wants to use his experience as a leader.

The move into the round of 16 can no longer be taken away from Bayern by the away win at Pilsen.

In the last two group games against Barcelona (away October 26) and Inter Milan (home November 1), it's all about securing first place in Group C.