OPINION
Liverpool’s goalless draw with Manchester City on Sunday wasn’t the greatest game of football, and the underperformance of numerous players was a key reason for that.
Reds frontman Roberto Firmino was particularly poor as he failed to replicate his trademark tenacity in a strangely lacklustre display.
The 5ft 11in Brazil international [Source: Transfermarkt] barely had a kick in the first half, and his frustration boiled over in the second period with a series of fouls before he was hooked by Jurgen Klopp.
And the Liverpool boss will be demanding more from Firmino once he returns from international duty, because the club cannot afford for his City performance to become a habit. The 26-year-old is too important to this Reds team for him to endure any lasting loss of form.
It’s possible that he’s suffering from fatigue. He does, after all, do the majority of the team’s pressing in the opposition half. But that’s no excuse for Sunday’s horror show.
Whether it was a tactical switch from Klopp or a conscious decision from the Liverpool players is unknown, but the team certainly didn’t employ their usual gegen-pressing style against the Premier League champions.
Firmino was a big part of that. He sets the tone for the team with his relentless pressing from the tip of the Reds’ attack, but he simply didn’t do that against Pep Guardiola’s side.
His performance is concerning because it coincides in a serious drop off in the form of his front three colleagues Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
No member of the trio are performing up to the standards they set last season, and results have tapered off in recent weeks as a result.
Firmino is undoubtedly a less egregious offender than Salah, of course, but due to his importance to the team it is far more vital that he rediscovers his form after the international break.
You could say it was one bad game, and you might be right, but the extent to which Firmino did not look himself against City was bewildering.
He needs to use this time away with his national team to recuperate and get his eyes back on the prize as Liverpool approach a crucial phase of the season.
