Danny Murphy has praised Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino, despite the Brazilian's slow start this season.
Firmino has only scored twice in his 12 Premier League appearances so far. And, while Murphy has admitted that the player is off his game at the moment, he reckons he will be very hard to get under control once he gets it going.
Murphy, who represented both Liverpool and Fulham during his playing days - the Cottagers lost 2-0 to Jurgen Klopp's Reds on Sunday - wrote a piece for the Daily Mail ahead of the match and had some very nice words regarding Firmino in there.
"Firmino is technically very good but what he relies on to be at the very top of his game is being physically right because his output is enormous," he wrote. "He is the trigger for all the pressing and his workrate is phenomenal.
"If for some reason he is having a dip, maybe because of tiredness, maybe a couple of aches and pains, you notice it. Some players can get away with it because they move the ball, Firmino is hard yards all over the place when he's at it.
"To me, he hasn't looked quite as sharp this season, and maybe that explains why Klopp didn't start him in midweek, to give him that little break. Funnily enough, Romelu Lukaku is a similar type I that when he drops physically, it affects his performances. When he's at it, he's unstoppable.
I made a similar point the other day in suggesting the Roberto Firmino also needs adequate competition. Firmino looks tired, I’m not debating that, but I also maintain that he needs competition.
— Matt (@FalseFirmino) November 11, 2018
"The good thing is that restoring top physical condition is the easiest thing to work on. It'll only be temporary for Firmino and we saw in Belgrade, Liverpool are always a better team with him in it."
Source : 90min