Former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer has hailed Roberto Firmino’s importance to the team, likening him to Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.
Firmino is one of Liverpool’s most important players and he has started this season in brilliant form.
He has mastered the false nine role that Jurgen Klopp uses him in and he is almost irreplaceable up front for the Reds.
As quoted on the Metro, McAteer said:
They [Liverpool] have had some great number nines and Roberto Firmino makes this side tick. They needed a magician in that attack who pulls everything together and it is similar to how Lionel Messi has played in a Barcelona team set up around him.
Firmino is Liverpool’s Messi. When he’s not in the team you can see how detrimental his absence is. He didn’t play the first half in the Uefa Super Cup but came on at the break and instantly made an impact as they created a lot of chances.
The system suits Mo Salah and Sadio Mane but it is Firmino who makes it all work – without him, Liverpool are a different animal.
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McAteer certainly makes a very good point. Firmino is the glue that keeps that explosive front three together and when he isn’t there, the lack of chemistry is evident.
He fulfils a role which is so difficult to explain and so problematic for opposition defenders.
He floats around in attack, waving his magic wand and creating chance after chance, it really is like watching Messi. In terms of importance to a team, he is as important to the Reds as Messi is to Barcelona.
