Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted he felt that Sadio Mane typified his side's approach in their 4-1 win over Cardiff City.
The Reds opened the scoring in the 10th minute, but were frustrated for large periods of the game as Cardiff played with a low block and denied the hosts any space.
Mane finally doubled the lead in the 66th minute with a searing strike from his left boot.
At first, it seemed the Senegalese had lost the ball as a sea of blue shirts surrounded him near the Cardiff penalty box, but Mane’s persistence paid off as he pressed and won the ball back.
Klopp explained that the pressing is something the team work on and he was pleased it paid off in Mane's case.
“It’s like a whole counter-press situation: lose the ball, get it back, shoot and fire in, so that’s really good.
“We had these situations against [Red Star] Belgrade [and] you need that. You need that constantly, actually.
“You need to play the pass with the risk to lose it.
"If you lose it you can win it back and then you have a gap at least for a second or so”, Klopp told Liverpool’s official website.
The win pushed Liverpool to the top of the Premier League table, at least until Manchester City’s fixture against Tottenham this evening.
Should Manchester City fail to win, Liverpool will keep their place at the top.
