Sadio Mane has praised Aston Villa by stating that Dean Smith’s side have ‘pushed’ Liverpool the hardest this season.
The Reds secured all three points at Villa Park on Saturday, with Mane netting a stoppage-time winner to send the away fans into party mode.
Villa opened the scoring in the game when Trezeguet punished Liverpool’s attempt to play offside during a set-piece situation, but the Premier League leaders then netted twice late on to leave the Midlands with all the points.
After the game, Mane was very honest in his brief assessment of the game, as he thinks that Villa were the ones who pushed them the most this season.
(Photo by Ian Cook – CameraSport via Getty Images)
“Aston Villa have been the team that pushed us harder so far,” Mane told BBC Sport. “That’s why this is the best league in the world. Every single game can be like this one.”
It’s a big compliment for Villa and Dean Smith, who will be looking to push further up the table, as they currently are sitting in the bottom half of the table.
On Sunday, they take on local rivals Wolves, as three points here could see Villa jump into the Premier League’s top 10.
If the Villa players can produce the same performance and energy levels they displayed against Liverpool then they will pick up a lot more points in these coming months.