Garcia: Give Firmino time to settle
Luis Garcia believes Roberto Firmino will prove himself to be a Liverpool hero but has called for patience from supporters to allow him to settle into his new life playing in England.
The Brazilian so nearly marked his Anfield debut against West Ham United at the weekend with a goal to remember, and was unfortunate when his stunning 30-yard effort came back off the post.
It was a sign of the undoubted talent the former Hoffenheim star possesses, and Garcia believes Liverpool’s No.11 needs time to adapt to the pace of the Barclays Premier League.
“It’s not easy to come into the Premier League and adapt,” Garcia told the Liverpool Echo.
“I think that he’s a very good player but you have to give him time to adapt to the pace of the game, to the players, the different situations in games.
“He’s a player that wants to do things to change games, like Coutinho does at the moment.”
While Saturday’s Anfield loss was difficult to take, Garcia has urged supporters not to be too downhearted and believes there are good signs after an encouraging opening to the new season.
He said: “Liverpool have to keep going. You can get games like Saturday. It’s better to get it out of the way early in the season. They’ve got lots of days now to find the solution, a big space to put in some work.
“I think the main target for the year has to be Champions League football. Liverpool need to play against the big teams. But it’s not easy at the start of the year, with new players, new signings, different ways of playing maybe with Benteke.”
The Spanish Kop hero is in Sweden where he is part of the Liverpool Legends squad who will face Manchester United tonight, in a game you can watch live on LFCTV from 6pm BST.
The exciting charity match to benefit the Liverpool FC Foundation and Manchester United Foundation will see the clubs' former stars take to the pitch for the special fixture at the Friends Arena in Stockholm.
Liverpool’s former No.10, who played in the first game against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, can’t wait to put on the famous red shirt once again.
He added: “All the players are flying in at different times from different places so we haven’t trained yet. It’s also very cold here, absolutely freezing! But the experience in Madrid was just brilliant, playing with all those wonderful Real Madrid and Liverpool players.
“It’s great to go around the world and leave special memories for the Liverpool fans, especially now we are officially supported by the club.
“Obviously I love meeting up with the 2005 Champions League players and then there are the 2001 UEFA winners as well. Everyone has a story to tell.
“We will have a laugh but tomorrow everyone will want to win it. It’s still Liverpool against Manchester United. It’s all about winning, it doesn’t matter how you play. But I’m really hoping I can get my first goal for the Legends.”
Tickets for the contest are still available to purchase by visiting www.friendsarena.se.
However, if you can’t attend the match, you’ll be able to watch it live via LFCTV and LFCTV GO. For full details, visit www.liverpoolfc.com/legends.