Champions League Player of the Week Sadio Mané Feeling “Confident”

Even while some have argued over his confidence and form, his first touch and shooting, Sadio Mané’s numbers on the season have remained strong—the end product has been there even if, arguably, he maybe hasn’t looked at his absolute best.

Now, though, with a Champions League hat-trick recorded in his last match and the signing of a new contract expected shortly, nobody can say the Liverpool attacker isn’t looking confident, and the player himself says he’s certainly feeling that way.

“It’s always important—especially for a striker—to score,” Mané told the club’s official website. “It gives you confidence and I am feeling confident. Now I am looking forward to continuing to give my best, as I have done even when I have not been at my best.”

His hat-trick against Porto saw Mané named UEFA’s player of the week in the Champions League, and he wants to score a few more in the return leg at Anfield to help ensure Liverpool’s progression to the quarter-finals of Europe’s top cup competition.

The most important thing, though, is progressing, and just as with scoring goals where the goal scorer tends to get most of the credit, Mané wants to make sure the role the entire team has in his and their success this season is highlighted.

“I’m very happy to win the award, but the most important thing was getting the three points,” he added. “It was a big honour for me to score the hat-trick, but without my teammates I am nothing. The whole performance of the team was great.

“We started the game well and did so right until the end, creating many chances and scoring five goals.”