OPINION
The praise has been rolling in for Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino over the past couple of days after his sensational performance off the bench against Newcastle United on Saturday.
The Brazilian was supposed to have been given a rest by manager Jurgen Klopp with Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Napoli in mind, but was called into action after Divock Origi suffered an injury during the first half.
All the 27-year-old did after that was provide two assists, one each for his strike partners Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, and pick up the official Man of the Match award.
Two former Premier League stars in Shay Given and Phil Neville were very impressed by him: “He’s probably one of the best number nines in the Premier League,” he told premierleague.com. Neville concurred saying: “He doesn’t get the plaudits that he probably deserves.”
The two men are clearly in agreement, here, but it’s Given’s point that is most pertinent. He hits the nail on the head when he calls Firmino one of the best number nines in the top flight.
When you think of the best number nines in the Premier League, the names that instantly come to mind are Sergio Aguero at Manchester City, Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
When you look at the statistics, though, Firmino is right up there with them. He may not be quite as prolific in terms of goals scored, but his value to his team is equally as high.
As per WhoScored.com, the Reds ace has scored the fewest of that quartet, but leads the way in other categories. He’s bagged the most assists, while averaging the most shots, key passes and dribbles per game. Furthermore, his average WhoScored rating per game of 8.02 is the highest of all four.
It’s clear, then, that Given is absolutely spot on in his assessment of the former Hoffenheim man. He deserves to be mentioned amongst the Premier League’s elite.
