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Topics: Liverpool, Thiago Alcantara, Roberto Firmino
Ben King
BBC pundit Garth Crooks has been singing the praises of Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino, and the 64 year-old believes that he is ‘in a different class’ to fellow Reds player Thiago.
After struggling to find his feet at the start of this season, and at the back end of last campaign, the Brazilian striker has improved his form dramatically, and has put up impressive numbers in a Liverpool shirt in recent weeks.
The Merseyside club looked to be on their way to another defeat this season against Robert De Zerbi’s Brighton side last weekend, after they went 2-0 down in only 17 minutes.
However, two Firmino goals mounted his team’s comeback in an exciting game that ended in a 3-3 draw.
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This isn’t the first time this season that the Brazilian has provided significant goal contributions.
Firmino netted 2 goals and provided three assists in an emphatic 9-0 win against Bournemouth in August, which is a game that is considered by many to have kick started his Liverpool career.
Crooks included Roberto Firmino in his Team of the Week, and he had a lot of positive things to say about the 31 year-old.
“These were two finishes of the highest quality by Bobby Firmino,” says Crooks. “The Brazilian may not have the legs anymore to command a regular place in Jurgen Klopp’s team.
“However, if you require a cool head in front of goal, especially when the chips are down, you need look no further than Firmino to get your team back on track.”
However, Crooks high praise of the striker came at the expense of his teammate, Thiago, with the pundit suggesting the Spaniard is less valuable to the team.
“Thiago certainly has his moments but if we are going to compare their contributions and the importance each player provides the team, then Firmino is in a different class.”
Although Firmino's goals were extremely important against Brighton, the Merseyside club didn’t look overly impressive in their clash with the Seagulls, and their best performances this season have undoubtedly come with Thiago in the side.
Klopp will be hoping the duo can both be fit and firing over next few weeks to revive his side’s lacklustre start to the season.