Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch has revealed that Reds attacker Roberto Firmino had him and his BT Sport colleagues ‘up on our feet, screaming’ on Wednesday night.
The Brazilian international once again played a starring role as Jurgen Klopp’s side eased to a 4-1 victory over Genk in the Champions League, including playing a beautiful rabona pass to Sadio Mane at one stage.
Crouch was very impressed: “The BT Studio on Wednesday night was a lively place to be when Roberto Firmino delved into his bag of magic tricks during Liverpool’s Champions League defeat of Genk,” he wrote in his Daily Mail column.
“I was sitting with Robin van Persie and Rio Ferdinand and the moment Firmino did his ‘Rabona’ pass to Sadio Mane, we were up on our feet, screaming. What I would have done to play alongside Firmino. If I was a manager, Mo Salah would be the one member of Liverpool’s front three that I could not do without. I have huge respect for Mane, too, but from a striker’s point of view, Firmino would be the dream partner.”
OPINION
Firmino played his role as master facilitator to perfection once again on Wednesday night, buzzing around the penalty area and bringing his teammates into play with nary a thought about needing to get himself on the scoresheet. The 28-year-old is one of those rare number nine’s who doesn’t necessarily care about his own goal tally. All he wants to do is help the team win, and if that means setting up Mane or Mohamed Salah rather than going it alone, then that’s what he does. That’s certainly what he did against Genk. The statistics show that Firmino was involved in almost everything in Belgium. As per WhoScored.com, the Brazilian produced two key passes and an assist on Wednesday, while playing two successful through balls and an accurate long ball forward. He was tremendous and, as Crouch says, he is a dream teammate for any attacker. It’s no surprise the BT Sport studio were up on their feet watching him last time out.
