Sadio Mane Scripts History With His Goal In Liverpool's 3-2 Win Over Villarreal [Watch]

Sadio Mane has scripted history with his goal in Liverpool FC's 3-2 win over Villarreal in the Champions League.

Liverpool progressed to the Champions League final with a 5-2 aggregate over Villarreal – the Reds' third UCL final in five years. Mane, along with Fabinho and Luis Diaz, were on the goal sheet for Liverpool at the El Madrigal Stadium on Tuesday.

With the goal, Mane (15 goals) surpassed Didier Drogba's record (14 goals) to become Africa's highest goal scorer in the Champions League knockout stages. Egypt's Mohamed Salah is in the third spot with 11 goals ahead of Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o (10 goals), according to Dazn Football.

Out of the 15 goals, three have come this season: one in Liverpool's quarter-final first leg at Benfica and one each in the Reds' semi-final legs against Villarreal. The Senegal national has netted a total of five goals in 12 Champions League appearances in the 2021-22 season and overall, he has scored 21 goals and provided three assists in 46 games in all competitions.

Mane, along with Diogo Jota, is second on the list of most goals for Liverpool this campaign, behind Salah, who has netted an incredible 30 competitive goals. With 11 goals, Brazil's Roberto Firmino, who is currently out of action due to a foot injury, is third on the list.

Liverpool will take on either Manchester City or Real Madrid in the UCL final on May 29 in Paris.

The Reds are chasing a historic quadruple. While they claimed the League Cup in February, they will now play the FA Cup final and the Champions League final. Liverpool are also alive in the Premier League title race as they are just a point behind leaders Manchester City with four games remaining.

Klopp-managed Liverpool are also the first team to reach the finals of the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup in the same season, according to the club's official website.

Salah, Firmino and Mane played a significant part when Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool won the Champions League in the 2018-19 season. They had reached the final even in the season before that but unfortunately, the Reds ended up losing the grand finale to Real Madrid. Salah had suffered a shoulder injury in the first half of that match as he tussled with then-Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos.

After the semi-final second leg at Villarreal on Tuesday, when Salah was asked if he would rather face Manchester City or Real Madrid in the showdown, the Egyptian forward replied, "Yeah, I want to play Madrid. City is a really tough team, we've played against them a few times this season. If you ask me personally, I'd prefer Madrid. We lost in the final against them, so I want to play against them and hopefully win it from them as well."