Boss: Firmino showed his centre-forward capability
Roberto Firmino's display at Carrow Road on Saturday showed exactly why Liverpool's No.11 can thrive in a centre-forward position, according to manager Jürgen Klopp.
The Brazilian scored two himself and teed up another for Jordan Henderson as the Reds ultimately secured a 5-4 win over Norwich City with the final kick of a sensational Barclays Premier League match.
As well as his coolly-taken brace – making it four goals in three games – Firmino’s touch and consistency in holding the ball up helped to bring teammates into the game and get Klopp’s charges on the front foot.
The manager asserted after the thriller that he will continue to set up his attack based on the task at hand, but insisted there should be no question about the summer signing’s suitability to lead the line.
Klopp said: “After Manchester United, everybody asked me ‘What about Firmino, [do] you need a real target striker?’ But he scored two against Arsenal and he scored two here.
“I think it’s a wide spectrum. Roberto is a striker. He’s a very offensive player. A lot of strikers are 1.60 metres or 1.70 metres-something. Leo Messi, what is he?
“Firmino can play and score goals and he is, for us, a good option to play with. He is flexible and in brilliant shape.
“Having the option with Christian [Benteke], that’s good. We have too many games where I can say ‘This or this is No.1’. We always have to make decisions.”
The manager was, of course, less satisfied with the concession of four goals against the Canaries despite feeling his team had improved in dealing with set-pieces in the initial stage.
He added: “It’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Everybody’s talking about it, we’re thinking about it. You see in a situation and it’s ‘a cross, pap, good’, then ‘OK, second ball’, ‘second ball, oh my God!’
“That’s the situation. I was an under-average player but if I was good at something, it was defending set-plays. It’s not that difficult. So we know how to defend. We have to do it now.”