Ballon d’Or Race: Sadio Mane Ups the Tempo As He Leads Liverpool to Another Final

• Mane has so far won two trophies in 2022 and is chasing three more as he guns for the Ballon d’Or award
• He played a crucial part in Senegal’s Africa Cup of Nations victory when he led his nation to their maiden title
• The Liverpool forward will however face stiff competition from his teammate Mohamed Salah and the in-form Karim Benzema

Sadio Mane has now emerged as a strong front runner for the Ballon d’Or award. Mane started the season sluggishly but has since picked up the pace to put his name forward for the coveted award.

The Liverpool attacker started the year emphatically by guiding his nation Senegal to their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations title in Cameroon. Mane was at hand to score the winning penalty against Egypt to send the West African nation into a frenzy.

He returned to Liverpool where he played a crucial part in the club’s Carabao Cup triumph over Chelsea. Liverpool are chasing the unprecedented quadruple this season.

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They are currently enjoined in a fight with Manchester City for the Premier League title. The defending Champions lead the Reds by a single point going into the final four games of the season.

Change of position for Mane

Mane has been played a false 9 by Jurgen Klopp since Luiz Diaz’s arrival from Porto. He has flourished in that position by linking up play, setting up goals and scoring them. He has 14 goals in this Premier League campaign so far.

The 30-year-old has also gone ahead and broken records in the UEFA Champions League. He scored twice against Villareal over two legs to break Didier Drogba’s record for the most goals by an African in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

The Senegalese attacker knows that victory over either Real Madrid or Manchester City in the Champions League final will go a long way in cementing his position as one of the favourites for this year's award.

Sadio Mane scores brilliant goal as Liverpool beat Villarreal in UCL semifinal 1st leg

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He will however face competition from Karim Benzema and his teammate Mohammed Salah. Benzema has already bagged the La Liga title and is enjoying his best individual campaign with Real Madrid. Salah meanwhile has been chosen as the Football Writers Association player of the season.

The Liverpool duo will have another chance at silverware when they play Chelsea in the FA Cup final. But at the moment, Sadio Mane is pulling all the stops to become the second-ever African to win the Ballon d’Or.

Mane equals Lampard's record in Champions League win

Earlier, Sports Brief had reported that Sadio Mane had equalled Frank Lampard’s record for most goals scored for an English team in the knockout competition.

His strike against Villareal was his 15th which brought him level with Lampard’s exploits for Chelsea.

Mane will have a chance to pull further ahead in the rankings when he takes to the field in the Champions League final on 28th May

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