During the shooting drill that Liverpool’s players undertake before every game, Sadio Mane was getting increasingly irritated.
The routine sees them have a shot from the edge of the box, run into position to receive a cross from the right wing and the swiftly turn to take a ball from the opposite flank. It is done to help the forwards get their eye in and find rhythm.
It all seemed easy for Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino but Mane had trouble with his aim. Though a few strikes whizzed in, a succession of shots crashed into the advertising boards or were smothered by goalkeeper Loris Karius, leaving him kicking at the turf in frustration.
Sadio Mane enjoyed a brilliant night against Porto, scoring a hat-trick as Liverpool won 5-0
Here was a snapshot of what the season has been like for the Senegal flyer. To look at his numbers, you wouldn’t think there was an issue. By February 14 last year, when he was being acclaimed for a superb debut campaign, he had played 28 times, scored 12 goals and provided seven assists.
This year? 28 games, nine goals, seven assists. Written in black and white, you would hardly think there has been a cause for concern but the reality is that the electricity which Liverpool’s No 19 so often produced has been absent in spells.
Back in Germany last summer, when Liverpool were on a pre-season first camp, Mane left his team-mates gasping in his first session back from injury with the quality he produced. The assumption was he would carry that form into the campaign but it hasn’t worked out that way.
There have been issues – the controversial red card at Manchester City in September, a hamstring injury on international duty the following month then a miss against Everton which cost Liverpool victory in the Merseyside derby – but here was a glorious chance to remind everyone of his worth.
Mane became the fourth player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League for Liverpool
If the signs of the training drill were ominous, the opening stages of this contest in Porto’s cavernous, noisy home did little to quell the feeling of uneasiness. He was tackled by Ricardo, the right-back, when receiving his first touch then under-hit a pass to Andy Robertson moments later.
There were dribbles that ended with him running into dead ends, passes that failed to find their target and at one stage he was unceremoniously bundled over, shaking his head on the touchline as tried to gather his composure.
Then came the incident which changed everything. In the 25th minute, his shot when teed up by Gini Wijnaldum lacked conviction but, crucially, it squirmed under the body of Porto keeper Jose Sa and apologetically rolled over the line. Lift off Liverpool, lift-off for Mane.
Suddenly the legs were moving that bit quicker, his pressing was a little more intense but, more than anything, you could see the confidence flooding through him. He belongs on this kind of stage and now he was ready to let rip.
Jurgen Klopp’s men have all but secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals
He would go on to get a second after the break, emphatically converting after Roberto Firmino had been thwarted. It effectively put Liverpool in the last eight but, on a personal level, his reaction was just as telling. Looking up to the Liverpool fans, he was smiling and pointing his fingers.
The relief was tangible. He needed this, desperately, but still it could get better. As Estadio do Dragao was emptying, Mane saved the best for last. At the end where he had been peppering the advertising hoardings, when it mattered he let an arrow fly from 25 yards to complete his treble.
What he had done was not lost on his team-mates. Robertson was first to hug him and the Scot also made sure he got the match ball, a permanent memento of a blistering night he will not forget in a hurry.