Sadio Mane scored his fourth Premier League goal of the season to give Liverpool the lead over West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
It took Mane just 21 minutes to break the deadlock at Anfield, but that was not his first major involvement in the game.
That came inside the opening three minutes when he shamelessly tried to con the referee into awarding a penalty.
No ?? for this Sadio Mane dive… Lino flagged for simulation, ref let it go! #LIVWBA pic.twitter.com/tw6x4DZbWX
— Andy Morris (@AndyMorrisBIC) October 22, 2016
The linesman flagged in favour of West Brom – presumably because he has seen the blatant simulation – but the ref shockingly failed to show Mane a yellow card.
Mane is certainly not the only player to cheat in this way, but it would be much less common if officials were tougher on divers.
Why can’t the FA review this footage after the game and punish Mane?
In truth, Mane’s dive is unlikely to change the course of the game, which Liverpool have dominated so far.
Philippe Coutinho has since made it 2-0 to the Reds, who will go top of the table tonight if they win by two goals or more.