Lescott: losing Mane massive

JOLEON Lescott believes Liverpool will miss Sadio Mane sorely as they bid to overhaul his old club Manchester City this season.

Mane’s €100m replacement Darwin Nunez made a promising start to his Liverpool career with a goal in the Reds’ 3-1 victory over rivals City in the Community Shield on Sunday.

Yet after playing a key role in much of the Merseysiders’ successes of recent years, Senegal forward Mane (below), who left for Bayern Munich this summer, has left huge boots to fill at Anfield.

Lescott feels City have the upper hand heading into a new Premier League season, with Liverpool again their closest challengers.

The former City and England defender said “I think the top two teams are going to be City and Liverpool and I think City are the favourites due to them winning last season.

“I think you should be favourites if you are the reigning champions but also I think they’ve added to the squad with some quality.

“I think it’s going to be slightly more difficult for Liverpool. I know they’ve signed Nunez, but without Mane, they can’t be as strong.

“The same could be said about Manchester City losing Raheem (Sterling), but in regards to Liverpool losing Mane that’s a huge loss.”

System

“I think if you view

Man City the team, the style and how they play, I think Pep has created a system that isn’t reliant on any individual.” Lescott also believes Antonio Conte’s Tottenham could emerge as challengers in the new season after an impressive summer of recruitment with signings including Ivan Perisic, Yves Bissouma and Richarlison.