Liverpool have boasted their fair share of attacking talent over the years, but there has not been such a devastating unified strikeforce as the spearhead assembled under Jurgen Klopp's management.
The Reds had failed to kick on since the prosperity of the noughties and boasted just one League Cup trophy since that illustrious spell when Rafa Benitez orchestrated silver-laden success across the FA Cup and Champions League across two seasons, with Steven Gerrard the centrepiece.
Klopp arrived in 2015 after Brendan Rodgers' Luis Suarez-led side failed to win the 2013/14 Premier League title after an enthralling contest – following the bitter culmination, the Uruguayan phenomenon was sold to Barcelona for £75m in 2014.
With his pillar of prodigy gone the towering Anfield edifice crumbled, but the incoming German manager rekindled the flame and restored the Merseysiders with his transcendent stewardship.
Trophy
Times won
Premier League
x1
Champions League
x1
FA Cup
x1
Carabao Cup
x1
FIFA Club World Cup
x1
UEFA Super Cup
x1
Community Shield
x1
Fast-track to the present day and Liverpool has enjoyed one of the most resounding chapters in its lengthy history, winning trophies from all directions and establishing itself as a true European powerhouse once more.
While the collective growth in quality has been remarkable, Klopp will perhaps be best known for his devastating attacking instruments, with Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane forming an iconic frontline that struck fear into the hearts of Europe's most formidable outfits.
Salah still plies his trade on Merseyside to this day, having posted 190 goals and 83 assists across all competitions for the Reds, while Firmino departed in the summer after 362 appearances, described as a “leader” by journalist Henry Winter for his integral role.
Mane was the first to leave, but that does not discredit the profound effect he had on the Anfield side, cementing his name as one of the finest of his generation, and that's despite Klopp holding major reservations upon the first encounter between the pair.
Why did Liverpool sign Sadio Mane?
Mane is comfortably one of Liverpool's finest forwards of the modern era, with his rise to prominence really something to behold, but it wasn't always this way, with the Senegalese star not exactly making the best impression on his future manager.
Revealing his first thoughts in 2020, Klopp explained how Mane first came to his attention while he headed the Borussia Dortmund ship, and that he certainly hadn't been coloured impressed.
Klopp said: "I remember my first encounter with Sadio. It was in Dortmund. There was a really young guy sitting there. His baseball cap was askew, the blond streak he still has today.
"He looked like a rapper just starting out. I thought, 'I don't have time for this'. Our team back then really wasn't bad. I needed someone who could handle not being a starter at the very beginning, someone I could develop."
Well, a few years on and Mane had been dazzling in the Premier League with Southampton, scoring 25 goals and supplying 14 assists from 75 outings – including the division's fastest-ever hat-trick – and leaving Klopp no choice but to part with £34m in 2016 to secure his services.
It came during Klopp's first summer transfer window since taking the reins, with fellow acquisitions Gini Wijnaldum and Joel Matip forming the early framework for the forthcoming illustrious endeavours.
It was a masterful move, but no one knew that yet.
How many goals did Sadio Mane score for Liverpool?
Across 269 outings for the Merseyside outfit, the 31-year-old enjoyed the best years of his career by a long stretch, scoring 120 times and serving up 48 assists for his teammates, earning praise for his "unbelievable" performances by pundit Jamie Redknapp.
Winning all the silverware – barring the Community Shield – that Klopp has gleaned on English shores to date, the 97-cap Senegal legend has been more than just instrumental, blending lightning pace with deft attacking motions a cheetah would tip its hat to.
Situated on the left channel, Mane and Salah wreaked devastation as they veered inwards, having found space following the wizardry of Roberto Firmino in the centre, whose intellect and selflessness broke the enemy lines and allowed the incisive. wide pair to flourish.
Hitting double-digits across all six of his Premier League campaigns with Liverpool, his threat was one of great consistency, notably scoring 40 goals across the 2018/19 – 2019/20 terms alone.
The one-time Red Bull Salzburg man also combined 52 times with both Salah and Firmino across his Reds career, highlighting the level of destructive ability this esteemed frontline held.
Such prowess led Klopp to hail him as “one of Liverpool’s greatest ever players" also claiming that “the goals he scored, the trophies he won; a legend, for sure, but also a modern-day Liverpool icon."
All good things come to an end, and with just one year left on his contract and a resolution looking unlikely, Mane was sold to German champions Bayern Munich for an initial £27.5m, but his time in Bavaria was anything but auspicious.
The 5 foot 9 gem scored 12 times last season but failed to truly find his feet and saw his situation compounded following a high-profile bust-up with teammate Leroy Sane.
He has since joined the lucrative Saudi Pro League wave and teamed up with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr for £24m, which ostensibly draws a curtain on his feats across Europe.
Endeared to the Liverpool fanbase and with a legacy woven into the fabric of this great footballing city, he is truly a staple of the immense success under Klopp's wing, rewriting the narrative and providing Anfield with a brilliant jewel.
