Sadio Mane has backed his Liverpool team-mates to maintain the pace in the Premier League title race while he is away on African Nations Cup duty with Senegal.

Mane will look on from afar for the next few weeks from the international tournament, which gets under way in Gabon on January 14, but he is confident his club will still be going strong on his return.

He told LFC TV: "It won't be easy for me to leave because I would like to help them until the end of the season.

"But I wish them good luck. We have a strong team and I think it won't be a problem. They will do it.

"I think we are in a good position. The draw is okay, but now the most important thing is the reaction. Everybody knows that and we are ready for the next game."