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Liverpool forward Sadio Mane says that he wants to put the disappointment of last season behind him and score 30 goals this season.

The Senegal international has not found himself short of goals since signing for the Reds in 2016. In fact, he has netted 98 times in 221 appearances and will undoubtedly hit a century of strikes soon. However, last season was – by his own admission – the worst campaign of his career so far.

He netted 16 goals and assisted nine others in 48 games, going through his own slump as Liverpool’s form fell away.

Still, this summer proved his first chance in a long time to have a proper break.  After playing 50 games in 2018/19, he went straight to the Africa Cup of Nations, reaching the final. As such, he had no time off before the 2019/20 campaign began.

From there, Mane faced the same struggles as everyone in the Premier League, as last term began straight after the disruption to the 2019/20 season.

Should he reach 30 goals, he would be following in Mohamed Salah’s footsteps. The Egyptian is the only Liverpool forward to reach the landmark since Mane, Salah and Roberto Firmino formed a trio in 2017.

“I want to score goals, and set up team-mates, even to score 30 goals,” Mane told Liverpool’s matchday programme.

“Why not? The more the better as far as I’m concerned and my ambition for the team is to win trophies. Everybody is hungry for that.

“I was so disappointed with last season, and passionately so, as I thought I could have done more.

“Whereas I might have been scoring between 18 and 22 goals a season, then on that occasion it was no longer the case so, of course, I was going to be disappointed.”

Last season proved to be Liverpool’s first without a trophy in three seasons.

Following their Champions League triumph in 2019, they won the Premier League title in 2020 with 99 points. However, Mane admitted concern that such achievements are now in the past.

Indeed, the focus has quickly turned to the teams around them bolstering their ranks. Chelsea have re-signed Romelu Lukaku, while Manchester United have signed Jadon Sancho.

Mane wants more Liverpool history

“In football, things move on very quickly and people forget the past,” he said. “It’s a shame, but that’s how it is.

“People aren’t always talking about what we have won up to today, and there’s no excuse for relaxing in pursuits of our goals.

“Of course, the experiences of last season have given all of us even more motivation, and all of us are really fired up to have a terrific season this time around. We were all very keen to get the season underway.”

Liverpool, meanwhile, have not added to their ranks. They still have Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino as back-up to their well-known front three and Diogo Jota.

Who won the transfer window? Aston Villa? Man Utd? Daniel Levy?…

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