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This article is part of Football FanCast's Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC's microscope.

After surprisingly falling behind to a Jetro Willems strike, Liverpool battled back to secure a 3-1 victory over Newcastle and maintain their perfect record in the Premier League.

Snapshot

In the Reds' first game after the international break, Jurgen Klopp sprung a surprise in his team selection by opting to start Divock Origi ahead of Roberto Firmino.

The German's thinking may have revolved around him having one eye on the Champions League clash against Napoli on Tuesday night, but the decision back-fired early on. Steve Bruce's side caught the Reds off guard in the opening few minutes, and duly took the lead through a fine Willems goal.

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Sadio Mane then equalised for the home side with an impressive effort of his own, before the true turning point of the game occured. Origi was forced off with just ten minutes remaining in the first-half, and Firmino's introduction simply turned the game on its head.

Off the bench

The Brazilian is a real live-wire with his movement off the ball and constant pressing of the opposition. His style of play makes him every manager's dream. And on Saturday, Firmino proved exactly why Klopp simply cannot afford to just leave him on the bench - no matter the policy on rotation.

The Liverpool boss' initial game-plan saw Origi play from the left, and Mane occupy the middle. Firmino's introduction however saw normal service resume, and the 27-year-old under-lined why he is such an important cog in the Reds' attacking machine.

In just over an hour of play, the Brazil international registered four key passes - one of which forced a mistake for Mane's second goal, and another oozed quality and panache to set up Mohamed Salah's strike. His tricks and flicks all seemed to come off, and he helped stitch the play together up front. There were a lot more patterns to the Reds' play, and there seemed to be more cohesion than when Origi was in the side.

If there is one lesson Klopp must take away from the clash at Anfield, it is that Firmino is simply irreplaceable.

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