After making his debut in the midweek cup win over Arsenal, Saido Mane retained his place in the Saints’ first XI for the weekend clash against QPR. With the Senegal wide man starting on the left of a 4-3-3, Dusan Tadic switched flanks to accommodate the new boy and both players earned an assist apiece as Ronald Koeman’s side served up a sixth straight victory in all competitions.
This weekend’s trip to White Hart Lane, where former manager Mauricio Pochettino awaits, precedes five excellent fixtures (SUN, STO, hul, LEI, avl) which are sure to strengthen our Fantasy faith in Koeman’s main men. With this in mind, we take a look at the performance of both Mane and Tadic against the R’s to assess whether the new boy’s first league appearance had any impact on his fellow midfielder.
As the average position map highlights, Tadic (number 11) was more advanced on the ball than Mane (number 10) and more or less on a par with Graziano Pelle (number 19) in the hosts’ front three. What’s also worth noting here is that Tadic’s average position is affected by Mane’s second-half withdrawal, as the Serb moved over to the left upon the introduction of Shane Long (number 7) on 68 minutes.
In terms of involvement, Tadic’s minutes per touch (1.3) were identical to his Gameweek 1-5 averages, whilst his minutes per pass received (2.2 compared to 2.1) were more or less the same – suggesting he’ll still see just as much of the ball with Mane on board. Encouragingly for the Senegal star, he not only matched Tadic’s minutes per pass received, he was slightly quicker for minutes per touch (1.2), and as his time on the pitch increases, he’s likely to become just as influential as his team-mate.
In the final third of the pitch, Tadic was the hosts’ key figure. The former FC Twente player managed 50 touches in the final third over his 91 minutes, whilst Mane produced 30 across his 68 – just one fewer than Pelle’s 31. Tadic also received more passes in the final third (25) than Mane (15), though the former’s distribution could certainly improve. The Serbian playmaker made just 23 successful passes over the match (a 76.7% success rate), with just one of his 13 crosses finding their target. Indeed, although Tadic’s 257 touches in the final third is top for midfielders this season, he’s only joint-seventh for successful passes (97) in this area.
Mane, on the other hand, tends to deliver the ball less often from out wide. He made just four crosses and registered a far higher pass completion (88%) against the R’s, with his total of three key passes greater than Tadic’s one. The Serb had previously averaged 2.2 chances created per appearance, at an average of 38.5 minutes, but whilst he did manage to deliver an assist, this dropped to 91 minutes at the weekend.
When compared to Shane Long’s stats for the season, it’s easy to see how Mane can improve the Saints – the summer signing from Hull has teed up a total of three goal-scoring opportunities for his team-mates over 304 minutes and completed just 75% of his passes. Mane’s ability in one-on-one situations is also vital – he completed three of five dribbles at the weekend, whereas Long has managed just one successful dribble from 10 attempts all season.
Although his creativity took a turn for the worse at the weekend, Tadic’s upturn in goal threat looks promising for Fantasy owners. The Serb registered nine touches in the box – more than any other midfielder in the Gameweek and far superior to his Gameweek 1-5 average of four. Furthermore, Tadic’s shift over to the right saw him produce six attempts on goal, with an impressive four inside the box – once again, markedly up on his previous averages of 2.0 and 0.8 respectively. Predominantly left-footed, it may be that being fielded as an inverted winger allows Tadic more scope to cut inside onto his favoured foot and fire more shots at goal.
While Mane’s overall stats suffer in comparison due to his second-half withdrawal, there’s reason for optimism here, too. Although his touches in the box (four) and attempts on goal (three) were inferior to his team-mate’s, the Senegal star still fired two efforts on target – equalling Tadic’s haul. Again, his average is far superior to Long’s 43.4 minutes per attempt, underlining the likelihood of bench-warming duties for the £12m purchase from Hull.
Another stat worth noting from Saturday’s match concerns the number of offside calls. Renowned for his lightning pace, Mane was flagged three times against the R’s – while it’s understandable that he’s not yet on the same wavelength as his fellow Saints, it’s also clear that he is keen to get in behind opposition defences time and again. By comparison, Tadic has been caught offside just four times all season – his more cultured style of play suggests that, of the two, he’s the man most likely to come looking for the ball rather than offer an outlet on the shoulder of the last defender.
*The Technical Area is put together using the statistics and maps available in our members area. For access to such data and tools on every player, team and match of the 2014/15 season, and for exclusive members articles like this, click here for details.
