Feature

Race for the Golden Boot: Sadio Mane

26 Mar 2019

Phil Neville says "unsung" Liverpool forward can keep on surprising and claim top-scorer prize this season

The race for the 2018/19 Premier League Golden Boot is wide open with six players separated by only three goals.

Former Manchester United and Everton defender Phil Neville looks at the strengths of the leading contenders.

Sadio Mane: 17 goals

The Liverpool forward is having his best-scoring season as a Premier League player.

Mane last week took his tally to 17 goals, the most in a single campaign by a Senegalese player and four more than he has managed before.

Trailing Sergio Aguero by only one, Neville sees no reason why Mane cannot follow on from Mohamed Salah and be presented with the Golden Boot by Cadbury at the end of the season.

"Mane's had a fantastic season," says Neville.

"Salah gets all the headlines and Mane's been a little bit unsung. He keeps scoring goals and nobody talks about him as a Golden Boot winner.

"But [he has an] ability to come in off that left-hand side, or right, and score goals by running through the middle with his unbelievable speed and his timing from crosses.

"He's been a pivotal, pivotal player in terms of Liverpool's success over the last two seasons."

No player has scored more than Mane's nine goals in 2019 but, along with Salah, what counts against him is that he has one fewer match to play than his rivals for the prize.

And of his remaining seven opponents, he has only scored this season against one.

Mane got a brace in the reverse fixture with Matchweek 35 opponents Cardiff City.