OPINION
Roberto Firmino is undoubtedly the most unheralded member of Liverpool’s fearsome front three. That doesn’t mean he never receives praise – he often does – but Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane have stolen the headlines this season.
However, the under-the-radar Brazilian once again underlined his status as undroppable for manager Jurgen Klopp with a terrific performance against Cardiff City on Sunday.
On the face of it, he didn’t achieve all that much. He didn’t score or grab an assist, but he certainly left an imprint on the game. He was everywhere, working incredibly hard for the team and making life hugely difficult for the hosts at the Cardiff City Stadium.
His ability to employ Klopp’s pressing system as well as he does is second to none. There’s likely no other attacker in world football who is better suited to the way Klopp wants his team to play.
He needs someone who leads from the front and creates space for everyone else to flourish. That’s Firmino in a nutshell.
He did that and then some against the Bluebirds. The sheer amount of work he got through was staggering, certainly far more than either Salah or Mane.
So perhaps he is the most important member of the Liverpool attack. He hasn’t scored the same amount of goals as the other two, but he arguably makes as much, if not more, of an impact on the team.
That’s not to say he’s a better player than Salah or Mane, that’s a different question. But against Cardiff he showed once again why he might just be Klopp’s favourite.
