Kopites adore the striker who formed a thrilling alliance with Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah in uniquely joyous fashion
, as a lone forward, and while he did OK his contributions were neither sparkling or potent. There were no goals and little to write home about.
But then came Liverpool’s trip to Manchester City in late November 2015. Firmino was again deployed centrally but this time as a false nine in a three-man frontline, given the licence to move into dangerous positions inside the area as well as drift across and away from the attacking line, all the while supported by, and supporting, the forwards either side of him.
Sadio Mané, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino embrace in celebration during Liverpool’s victory over Roma in April 2018. The trio formed a hugely impressive frontline during their five years together at Anfield.side his own, using his technical gifts, tireless work rate, selfless attitude and intelligence, on and off the ball, to bring the best out of himself as well as others. The impact was consistently impressive and especially so after Mané and Salah arrived in successive summers.
And while Firmino may have been the least eye-catching member of the trio in that time he was undeniably central, literally as well as figuratively, to the devastation they caused. As Andrew Robertson put it after that win over Burnley in August 2019: “People will say there are better strikers, but what he does is so important to our team. He’s our first line of defence, he nicks the ball in midfield and then he goes up the park and scores goals and makes assists. We’d be lost without him.
As the goals rained in and the trophies piled up, there was always the question of which of the front three would leave first. It turned out to beand as this season has gone on the sense has only grown that Liverpool are far less of a force without the Senegalese.
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