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It seems mightily incongruous to suggest that Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino was somewhat out of sorts last season. The Brazilian scored 12 times in the league and made 7 assists which is a healthy return for any forward and all the while he was part of a formidable front three that collectively terrorised the great and the good. What’s more his endless endeavour played a crucial role in his side losing only one league game all season while accruing 97 points, then topping off a memorable year by lifting the Champions League.
If that is ‘out of sorts’ pretty much every team in the world would happily accommodate it.
Even so, an initial struggle in adapting to playing deeper – with Klopp positioning him as a number 10 on 12 occasions, usually in a 4-2-3-1 formation – not only attributed to a lower strike-rate than in previous campaigns (in 2017/18 Firmino scored 27 across all competitions) but a drop-off too in his effectiveness. He was routinely out-shone by his attacking compatriots Mo Salah and a player in Sadio Mane who was enjoying a career zenith. Whisper it quietly but he was sometimes even nigh-on anonymous, as the two players around him went on to produce Golden Boot tallies.
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Last December Jurgen Klopp insisted there was nothing to worry about concerning his star’s dip into mediocrity but by virtue of it being a conversation that surely meant the concern had merit. The German ended his defence of his attacker by saying: “That’s just how it is with a player’s career, you have these moments where you fly and you cannot really explain it, and other moments where you have to work a bit harder.”
Whether those words were spoken in prescience or hope it can absolutely be stated that Firmino is flying again now. He is once again pivotal. He is once again everywhere seemingly at once.
This was best illustrated recently at Anfield where the 27-year-old was initially rested with one eye on a forthcoming Champions League tie. For much of the first half his team huffed and puffed against a stubborn and surprisingly sprightly Newcastle, but an injury to Divock Origi saw him introduced and the transformation to the game’s narrative was immediately apparent. Firmino was sensational that afternoon; a worthy man of the match despite only being involved for two-thirds of it.
“He's the glue that holds everything together,” was how Trent Alexander-Arnold fittingly described his impact later. “Infectious,” was the word Michael Brown went for on 5Live, denoting how he lifts all around him via his ferocious work-rate and clever touches.
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As impressive as Firmino’s performance was it was hardly as one-off either. Rather it was a continuation of a stunning start to the campaign. Away to Southampton it was Firmino’s strike that settled matters. In the testing environs of Turf Moor it was Firmino who got his side through by finding space between defence and midfield.
Last year Liverpool scaled heady heights and all the while with one third of their attacking unit wrestling to reach above the ordinary. This time out all three are firing with every cylinder - each has individually been involved in at least five Premier League goals already this season.
Will it be enough to see the Reds take that additional step and secure their first ever league crown? That remains to be seen. But any worries about Firmino now reside firmly with Liverpool's title rivals.