Former Premier League striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has warned Liverpool they could face a big problem if Sadio Mane stops scoring in the coming weeks.
Jurgen Klopp’s men returned to the summit of the Premier League table with a late 2-1 win over relegation battlers Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday.
Manchester City were in action against Swansea City in the FA Cup and the Reds were able to take full advantage as they climbed to the top of the table.
Liverpool were yet again dependent on Mane’s scintillating form in front of goal as the Senegalese forward opened the scoring in the 26th minute, just as he did against Bayern Munich in the Champions League last week.
The Reds forward has now netted 11 goals in his last 11 appearances for the club and moved to 17 goals for the Premier League season with his finish at Craven Cottage.
And following his red-hot streak, Hasselbaink has admitted Liverpool could face trouble if Mane stops scoring in the coming weeks.
The former Chelsea striker admitted Roberto Firmino is not having a bad season, but insisted Liverpool are heavily reliant on Mane’s form at this point in time, as Mohamed Salah is struggling.
Hasselbaink also added Liverpool’s defenders do not contribute enough goals from set-pieces and stressed they rely too much on the front-three due to the lack of goals from midfield as well.
“With 13 goals in all competitions this season, Firmino is not doing badly, but he ended up with 27 in 2017-18 and at this stage he already had 23”, Hasselbaink wrote in his column for the BBC.
“Salah is struggling for goals too, but Mane is making up for that with 11 goals from his past 11 games, and he is on fire right now.
“At the moment Liverpool do not have a big problem, but if Mane stops scoring they could have because they rely so heavily on their front three.
“Their centre-halves do not contribute enough from set-pieces despite being very good in the air, and their midfielders also need to score more goals.”
Liverpool return to action after the international break, when they host Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on 31st March.
