Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas has torn into Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino, insisting that his teammate Sadio Mane is ‘carrying’ the Reds.
The Brazilian international has been far from prolific this campaign, although he’s still been his incisive self. Mane, though, is operating on a different stratosphere this term. Either way, though, Nicholas feels Jurgen Klopp’s team will beat Watford 3-0 on Saturday.
“The games that have come Liverpool’s way have been excellent – they haven’t needed to be at their best,” he wrote on the Sky Sports website. “People don’t think they can keep going like this but when you are going against a team with a manager who is trying to lift things, it does suit you.
“Liverpool can afford to rest two out of the three front players and still have enough to get three points. Mohamed Salah has scored in successive matches but hasn’t been playing well and Roberto Firmino has not been brilliant. Sadio Mane has been carrying them. I see a very comfortable afternoon nevertheless. It may take them time to break Watford down though.”
OPINION
There’s no doubt that Firmino hasn’t been quite at his best this season. He’s had the odd scintillating game, and he’s still facilitating extremely well. The 28-year-old has certainly been below the insanely high standard set by Mane this term. The former Southampton man has taken his game to an astronomical level, and is arguably the Premier League’s Player of the Season at this early stage of the campaign. When you compare the statistics of what the two Liverpool attackers have done this time round, Firmino looks surprisingly good. As per WhoScored.com, the Brazilian is beating out the Senegal international in average shots per game, while he is offside less often, and has fewer unsuccessful touches and is dispossessed less often. However, Mane is the main man in goals (nine to four), average key passes and shots per game, while he is fouled more and has a higher average WhoScored rating. He’s been sensational, whereas Firmino has merely been good.
