The team winning is more important than me scoring, asserts Sadio Mane
Liverpool forward Sadio Mane has asserted that securing the Merseyside club’s victory is more important than making sure that he personally gets on the scoresheet and insisted that focus should be maintained on the next game as it comes. The Senegal winger scored in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Benfica.
Benfica hosted Liverpool in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals match held at the Estadio da Luz on Tuesday. The English club started the game brightly with their intensity and capitalized on their momentum via a Ibrahim Konate header, from a corner, for his first goal for the club. Trent Alexander Arnold and Luis Diaz combined really well to provide Mane the simple task of finishing from point-blank range in the 34th minute to double their lead.
But Benfica roared back into the game just four minutes after the restart as Darwin Nunez scored his 20th goal in his last 20 games to pull one back for the Portuguese club. However, the Reds held on to their lead and Luiz Diaz, who once played for Benfica's arch-rivals Porto, confirmed the win with a late goal. It handed Liverpool a 3-1 win in the first leg and it should help them in the second leg as Mane urged his side to keep their focus on each game and admitted that Liverpool’s victory is more important than his goalscoring record.
“Like I always say, the team is winning – that’s more important [than me scoring]. I scored a goal today; I'm happy but more important were the goals we scored. We’re waiting for the next game and to get the job done at home. A great start [to the week]. We can't expect better than that and it will help us to prepare for the next game,” Mane told Liverpool’s website.