Sadio Mane of Liverpool scores his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Norwich City and Liverpool FC at Carrow Road on February 15, 2020 in Norwich, United Kingdom. /Getty Images
Senegalese forward Sadio Mane came off the bench and scored the only goal of the game as Premier League leaders Liverpool defeated Norwich City 1-0 at Carrow Road on Saturday.
The result saw Liverpool register a 17th successive win in the league and extended its unbeaten run in the league to 26 matches.
Liverpool dominated the match averaging 63 percent possession and registering 17 goal attempts of which six were on target, compared to Norwich's one.
Norwich, who are bottom of the table, had a glorious chance to take the lead in the first half but keeper Alisson Becker managed to palm away Lukas Rupp's pass to Teemu Pukki, who looked certain to score with a simple tap in.
In the second half, Guinean midfielder Naby Keita, drafted in in place of Fabinho, sent a strong right foot shot at goal which Norwich goalkeeper Tim Krul tipped over the crossbar.
Liverpool almost took the lead a minute later when Mohamed Salah collected a loose ball in the penalty box and fired a weak shot with his right foot which was saved by Krul, who denied Keita from point-blank range on the rebound.
Norwich, again, came close to breaking the deadlock when Alexander Tettey struck the post in the 71st minute with a speculative drive with Alisson scrambling to cover his near post.
Mane, who replaced Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 60th minute, controlled a long pass from Captain Jordan Henderson and swivelled around to fire a left-foot strike past Krul in the 77th minute.
The goal was Mane's 100th in English football and his 57th in the Premier League for Liverpool. Surprisingly, it was his first league goal for the European champions as a substitute.
The Senegalese forward had missed the Reds' last four games (two in the league and two in the FA Cup) with a muscle problem sustained during the 2-1 win away against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Liverpool now needs only one more win to equal Manchester City's top-flight record of 18 straight league wins and five more victories to claim a first league title in 30 years.
Source(s): Premier League