23 hours ago
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Sadio Mane warned Liverpool of Ismaila Sarr’s talent and threat, long before his first-half brace at Anfield on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup fourth-round tie.
The winger netted twice in the opening 45 minutes as he powerfully drilled the ball with his left foot, before minutes later coolly slotting beyond Freddie Woodman with his right. Sarr has been a constant menace in previous meetings with Liverpool in the past and has scored four goals in three matches against the Reds this season.
He has also scored seven in nine matches against Liverpool and has only scored more in fixtures versus Aston Villa.
Ahead of a match in 2020, not long after Sarr had signed for Watford, Mane revealed he warned his then Liverpool teammates to expect a tough game against his fellow Senegalese.
“The first day he signed I sent him a message to say good luck and that I was happy for him,” Mane told The Athletic.
“He’s rapid. I think defenders will struggle. Last time I was speaking to Robbo [Andy Robertson] I said ‘ Watford have a really good player. I will need to help you more otherwise Ismaila Sarr will kill you, because he is a good dribbler and very, very fast'."
“I’m really happy for him and he made the right choice to come to Watford. For sure I think he will be great.
“I feel I need to protect him at the beginning because even though he is a really good player it is not easy in the Premier League, because I had that sort of problem.
“If there are problems to start off with then people need to take care of him, go easy on him and especially the fans need to support him and give him confidence for a great future.”
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