A number reveals why things are going better for Sadio Mané at Bayern
Created: 11/07/2022 11:24 am
By: Nico Scheck
Sadio Mané seems to have finally arrived at Bayern.
© Sebastian Räppold/Matthias Koch/imago
Sadio Mané is getting better and better at FC Bayern.
So has the new star finally arrived in Munich?
At least one statistic suggests so.
Munich – "For me he has arrived a long time ago," said Bayern boss Oliver Kahn recently about Sadio Mané.
And Kahn seems to be right.
At least now.
Mané's start at Bayern Munich was promising.
He hit like on an assembly line.
The early result was five goals after five competitive games.
And then came Bayern's mini-crisis, and with it the Mané crisis.
The new star on the Isar suddenly didn't score anymore and sometimes seemed hardly or not at all connected in the Munich game.
Sky expert and ex-Liverpool player Didi Hamann has even described Mané as a "foreign body".
But now, weeks later, the situation is different.
Bayern wins again and Mané scores.
But not only that.
Mané finally delivers assists at Bayern
Because Mané seems to have finally arrived in the Bayern squad.
It is not uncommon for even a player of Manés caliber to take some time to pick up the game.
It was not without reason that FCB coach Julian Nagelsmann repeatedly urged patience.
To know who is where and when and who goes which way.
That takes time and getting used to.
Mané has been scoring goals again since the international break in mid-September.
Since then he has succeeded in six booths.
In the last two Bundesliga games against Mainz (6:2) and Hertha BSC (3:2) there was another innovation.
Mane provides assists.
Previously, he had only managed to do that against Viktoria Pilsen (5-0) in early October.
That's it.
Mané now played twice for his colleagues against Mainz and once against Hertha.
"I can score goals and provide assists," emphasized the 30-year-old last week after the Mainz game.
And now confirmed against Hertha.
Nagelsmann conversion works for Mané
The fact that Mané now finds his teammates in front of the goal shows how much better he is now connected in the Bayern game.
His teammates not only know where Mané stands.
Mané now also knows where his team-mates stand.
Another factor in the change is certainly Nagelsmann's switch from Mané to the left wing.
"He did brilliantly in this position at Liverpool for years," recalled the coach.
Mané can confirm that: "I've played on the left side my whole life." Speaking of Liverpool: The "Reds" could already be waiting for Bayern in the Champions League round of 16.
For Mané it would be a reunion with his ex-colleagues.
By then, the Senegalese will have arrived in Munich long ago.
(nc)