3 Areas for Liverpool's Roberto Firmino to Improve to Take His Game Forward
Liverpool pulled off a major coup in signing Roberto Firmino last summer, beating Manchester United to his signature and sealing a deal with Hoffenheim worth up to £29 million, and the Brazilian is developing into a key player under Jurgen Klopp this season.
According to the Liverpool Echo's James Pearce in March, the Reds "got cold feet" over a deal to sign Memphis Depay from PSV Eindhoven, leaving the Dutchman to join United for £25 million.
Instead, Liverpool opted for Firmino, as Pearce recalls that "they decided the chance to snap up the versatile Hoffenheim attacker was too good to turn down."
Despite a slow start, hampered by a niggling back injury and the mismanagement of Brendan Rodgers, Firmino is set to hit double figures for both goals and assists in his first season in England, having scored 10 and laid on a further nine in 44 appearances so far in all competitions.
This would be a remarkable achievement for the former Figueirense man, who has taken up a focal role in Klopp's attack alongside the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge, but what will encourage his manager the most is that there is much more to come from Firmino, who is still just 24 years old.
Here are three areas Firmino can improve on in his next season at Liverpool in order to take his game forward—including backing up his attacking heroics with leadership on the field.
Leadership
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At times this season, Firmino has been surrounded by players two, three, four or five years his junior, with Klopp utilising his youth ranks to navigate a congested fixture schedule made worse by a number of injuries to key players—Sturridge, Coutinho and Divock Origi have all missed parts of the campaign, among others.
In the Reds' Capital One Cup fourth-round clash with Bournemouth in October, for example, Firmino joined Origi (then 20), Jordon Ibe (then 19) and Joao Carlos Teixeira (22) in a four-man attacking unit, serving as Klopp's most experienced forward.
That day, he produced a stellar performance, with This is Anfield's Henry Jackson concluding that "Firmino was sublime from start to finish, looking streets ahead of any other player on the pitch in terms of ability."
This was an exemplary display from Firmino, providing Liverpool's young side with the drive needed to advance to the next stage, but at other times this season, he has lacked the authority required.
In December's 3-0 loss to Watford in the Premier League, for example, Firmino's display was limp and without direction, while his performance in a 2-0 league defeat to West Ham United the following month was similarly poor; when Liverpool wilted against lesser opposition, so did their No. 11.
During April's 2-1 win away to Bournemouth in the league, Firmino needed some inspiration from Sturridge to be jolted into action, and it is this that serves as an example for the 24-year-old as he continues to rise to prominence under Klopp—as a key player, in a central role, this leadership must come as second nature.
Big-Game Consistency
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It would be wrong to suggest that since Firmino's £29 million move to Merseyside the forward has gone missing in most big games, but one of the key areas that he must work on to continue his development under Klopp is his consistency at the highest level.
He played a crucial role in November's 4-1 league win away to Manchester City, contributed an emphatic two-goal performance in the 3-3 draw with Arsenal in January, combined with Adam Lallana to devastating effect in March's 3-0 win over City at Anfield and did once again in the Reds' 2-0 UEFA Europa League win over Manchester United eight days later.
But while Firmino has produced some influential displays in a Liverpool shirt, there have been times when the Maceio-born star has underperformed—most notably, in March's League Cup final and against Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League.
"A poor performance from Firmino, who had arguably been Liverpool’s best player in 2016 prior to the match," Jackson wrote for This is Anfield after the loss to City at Wembley Stadium, highlighting an inopportune drop in output from Firmino.
In the Reds' remarkable 4-3 comeback at home to Dortmund at the beginning of April, Firmino was withdrawn after 62 minutes, with Liverpool 3-1 down, as Sturridge took his place in attack.
"[Firmino was] fortunate to start, and didn't do much to justify his selection first half," the Liverpool Echo's Neil Jones proffered after the game, with both Origi and Sturridge outshining the 24-year-old as Liverpool battled back to victory.
In a sensational first campaign on Merseyside, full of vigour, finesse and the requisite intensity required to shine under Klopp, Firmino has done little wrong, but he can reach elite level if he follows Coutinho's lead and finds consistency in big-game situations.
Chemistry with Daniel Sturridge
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For much of the season, the prospect of pairing Firmino—Liverpool's big-money success story—with Sturridge—the Reds' best player when fit—was a tantalising one due to the seemingly fleeting likelihood of the latter regaining any semblance of fitness following a number of frustrating injury issues.
Sturridge spent much of the first seven months of the season on the treatment table, making just six league appearances during that time and scoring only three goals as he suffered setback after setback. If it wasn't his hip, it was his knee; if it wasn't his knee, it was his hamstring.
During Sturridge's absence, Firmino rose to the fore as Klopp's first-choice striker, scoring eight goals and laying on a further eight in 19 appearances under the German before Sturridge's return in March.
"The theory goes had this trio been fit for selection for most of the season—or for even half the number of games in which they’ve been missing—Liverpool would be pursuing a top-four position rather than striving for consistency in mid-table," the Telegraph's Chris Bascombe wrote after Sturridge, Firmino and Coutinho made their first start together as a trio in February's 6-0 win away to Aston Villa.
This gave a glimpse of how effective Sturridge and Firmino can be together, with the dynamic Englishman leading the line with pace and intelligent movement and his attacking colleague pressing with efficiency and linking up with guile in the final third.
However—as should be expected—two months later their chemistry remains slightly off.
Likely owing to the language barrier and both players' battle with fitness, Firmino and Sturridge have yet to reach its full potential. But as Bascombe attested, if they are able to be called upon on a regular basis in 2016/17, Klopp's Liverpool can rely on one of the best attacking duos in the English top flight.
Firmino has made a phenomenal impact in a turbulent first season on Merseyside, and with some fine-tuning during pre-season allowing the 24-year-old to continue to settle in his new surroundings, he will go from strength to strength as Liverpool's No. 11.
Statistics via Transfermarkt.co.uk.
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