Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has heaped praise on one of Liverpool's attacking players for his standout performance against Spurs.
In his post-Spurs interview with BT Sport, Klopp raved:
"Firmino - oh my god! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better performance from a striker without scoring".
Gee, don't exaggerate or anything (!)
Klopp constantly speaks in glowing terms about Firmino, and this is just the latest in a long line of gushing interviews about him. It's hardly surprising, though - Firmino embodies everything Klopp loves about a striker, and work-rate, pressing, and running are clearly more important than actually scoring goals.
Maybe it's just me, but to earn the lofty title of 'best performance from a striker without scoring', I'd expect a striker to be a consistent goal threat during a game. Against Spurs, Firmino had just one shot on goal all game, and created one chance in 90 minutes. Plus, the Brazilian lost possession more than anyone on the team bar Adam Lallana. Still, he ran around a lot, so I guess that's the new criterion for judging striker effectiveness.
The reality is that Firmino has scored only two goals in the last 11 games, and hasn't contributed a single assist in 18 straight matches. Like Adam Lallana (1 goal in 12 games) he has failed to step up this year, and whilst he put in a hard-working performance against Spurs, goals and assists - his primary role - will be needed to get into the Champions League, so he (and Lallana) need to start making an actual measurable contribution sooner rather than later.
Sadio Mane can't do it all by himself.
* Firmino: €55m-rated (CIES). Hailed as 'magnificent' by Phil Thompson. Klopp comments transcribed whilst watching live.
In his post-Spurs interview with BT Sport, Klopp raved:
"Firmino - oh my god! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better performance from a striker without scoring".
Gee, don't exaggerate or anything (!)
Klopp constantly speaks in glowing terms about Firmino, and this is just the latest in a long line of gushing interviews about him. It's hardly surprising, though - Firmino embodies everything Klopp loves about a striker, and work-rate, pressing, and running are clearly more important than actually scoring goals.
Maybe it's just me, but to earn the lofty title of 'best performance from a striker without scoring', I'd expect a striker to be a consistent goal threat during a game. Against Spurs, Firmino had just one shot on goal all game, and created one chance in 90 minutes. Plus, the Brazilian lost possession more than anyone on the team bar Adam Lallana. Still, he ran around a lot, so I guess that's the new criterion for judging striker effectiveness.
The reality is that Firmino has scored only two goals in the last 11 games, and hasn't contributed a single assist in 18 straight matches. Like Adam Lallana (1 goal in 12 games) he has failed to step up this year, and whilst he put in a hard-working performance against Spurs, goals and assists - his primary role - will be needed to get into the Champions League, so he (and Lallana) need to start making an actual measurable contribution sooner rather than later.
Sadio Mane can't do it all by himself.
* Firmino: €55m-rated (CIES). Hailed as 'magnificent' by Phil Thompson. Klopp comments transcribed whilst watching live.
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