Well since I'm not following Liverpool on regular basis, 1 game out of 5 in average, I don't know if this claim is correct but from what I've seen of Mane in the League and in the Can 2017 makes me wonder if the main reason of Liverpool struggle lately was due to Sadio Mane absence...

Klopp said that it's affecting them but it's not the main issue, after being lately the best African player of the Can, i wonder if it's really the case.
In term of stats, Mane is implicated in 22% of Liverpool goals, far from Costa most influential player of the premier averaging 50% ( goals + assists ) key passes not included. But then again his presence makes his teammates score more.

Is he the most influential player at Liverpool ? Is he more important than Coutinho ? Or it's more the team tiredness that put them in this awful situation.

Fact is that Liverpool have won only one game since the start of 2017, by only one goal margin and against 4th division Plymouth, terrible start of the calendar year, but it also coincides with Mane departure for national duty...

Since the start of the season till December : goal scored : 2,52 per game conceded 0,97
Since January 2017 : goal scored 1,13 per game, conceded 1,17

If some Prem fanatics could share their opinion on this, every opinion is welcome 😀

Hard to say, I've missed so many Liverpool's matches this season, seen probably only 3 or 4 games. One thing I am sure is that I did not think he'd be this good. Always seen him as a great player for top 12 club, not top 6.

I wouldn't say he is most important, but definitely one of the 3 most important players atm at Liverpool.

As a Liverpool fan, even I don't get to watch EPL matches with broadcasters in India telecasting only to HD television sets.
Mane is a complete package:
he is our focal point for our counter attacks coz he's got some good pace.
broadens the opposition defense for our midfielders to exploit.
his dribbling is not the best.. but definitely good for EPL standards.
there is also Firmino playing in striker position defending from the front.. managers always prefer striker with a good defensive head.

without him, we are a predictable team with similar type of midfielders in Lallana, Henderson, Can, Wijnaldum. That's why our chance creation has dipped in the last 7 matches.

there is no single player I can pick as the best player coz the missing of any one of the players cost us the points..
Matip sat out once and we drew with a lower tabled team. Henderson didn't play for some matches, again we lost. Then, Coutinho missed.. Mane missed..

its a treat to watch Liverpool playing with their full squad. i would recommend you to start watching our matches coz there will be goals from both sides of the pitch :P

Oh i did a moment when Coutinho was reaching his peak of the season, vs United home and away, vs Chelsea, Vs Arsenal ( Mane wondergoal ), meryside derby.... its not like I didn't watched a single game. But yeah it depends on betting and games importance.
Last games I saw were Saints 1-0 defeat first leg of the cup, and United league game.
I keep following the form of for betting purposes tho.

@tiki Very good thread, a correct question and one I also ask myself. My personal opinion is that quikzyyy is propably right, if Mané isn't Liverpool most important player, he is certainly one of the best player in the team. He add something to the team that no player basicaly can, he is fast, can dribble and pressure at a high level among other thing. Simply having him on the field can make the other team feel nervous.

I don't think Liverpool has a most important player. The way Klopp's teams usually run, it requires a total team effort to play his press and speed-centered game. That's how it was at Dortmund, and I don't see how that's changed at Liverpool.

@Sunflash Yeah, but thanks to his stamina and speed, Mane is perfect for that kind of play. :D

No.

I would say Klopp's teams run on a diamond/triangular system. It strictly depends on the opponents and Klopp's music that day I guess. But from what I've noticed, the 4 most important players are Coutinho, Henderson, Mane, and Milner. And in that order. Now seeing that how Mane hasn't been featuring coincided with Liverpool's worst performance over the past month, I'd say he is an important piece of Liverpool...is he the most important? I wouldn't really say so; all are equally important...which tire on your car is the most important one? Take that off, and try going on a long drive with the donut spare and tell me how that works for ya!

@ashwin Henderson? I wouldn't have put him ahead of Mane but that might just be me. :S Anyway, agree with the Milner mention here, he has been important for the club. ;)

@Embot: Henderson is actually the engine for Liverpool...he keeps the ball moving besides serving as a shield for that defense...as you may also have noticed over the last month or so, he was out too. And Pool's defense as well as its ball movement suddenly became stale...but to be fair, in my opinion, none of the 4 players can be effective without one another...well..maybe Coutinho...but we've already seen that movie, haven't we?

Well maybe he isn't atm the most important, i dont follow games regularly to judge his consistency. But from the few I saw and his games with Senegal, Mane is taking another dimension. He is 24yo, first season in a big club and surely has the ability to lead the team in the future. what he is doing atm with Senegal is impressive. And he has no problem taking responsibilities at such a young age, that's mentally strong.

@Tiki No, I confirm, he is very important to Liverpool, maybe not the most important but like Ashwin said earlier and I realize he is propably right, Liverpool actually need a couple of player to be as good as they are, Mane, Henderson and Coutinho in particular are very important. But yeah, for me, Mane is op as hell, he could suceed pretty much anywhere in the world in my humble opinion. I think he would fit the Spanish side as well but he propably won't join any of the big one sadly. :(

@Ashwin1729 Make a lots of sense, sorry for my lack of knowledge, I don't watch a lots of Liverpool game sadly. Thanks for taking time to explain though. ;)

lallana and firmino are pretty important as well.

Liverpool used a private jet to bring back Mane from Gabon the day following elimination... he is playing next game.

@liomessi10 Indeed, both can be inconsistent at time but they are very good player when they are in a good form.

@tiki_taka Just goes to so how much Klopp value him. :)

It just depends on whether he will make an impact for Liverpool next game against Chelsea... :)

Most important player is Daniel Sturridge

they cant win without him on...... :P liverpool is to dependent on players

@tiki are you betting for thrills? coz i have heard ppl don't get much profit by betting..

@marcus Sturridge was really good 2 or 3 years back.. Now he has just half the pace of what he had those days. may be he is running slow not to get injured. whatever may it be, he is going to be transferred