Roberto Firmino “looked a shadow” of his former self in Liverpool’s Premier League defeat to Everton, according to Tony Cascarino on talkSPORT.
The Reds were beaten 2-0 at Anfield on Saturday evening, producing a dismal showing and leaving their hopes of a top-four finish in serious danger.
Hardly any Liverpool players covered themselves in glory on the night, but Firmino was as lifeless as anyone, producing two poor finishes and little else.
Cascarino believes the Brazilian has become a problem for the Reds, admitting he is a difficult man to replace:
Roberto Firmino bothers me – he’s got one goal in 14 games. Yesterday, he looked a shadow [of his former self].
[…]
Who plays like him? You can go and get another centre-forward but finding a replacement for Firmino is tricky.
Read Liverpool Verdict
Firmino has been a wonderful player for Liverpool and will go down as a club legend, but there is now a real feeling that he has drifted past his peak.
He turns 30 later this year and has now been below par for a sustained period – arguably even as long as a year.
Firmino has played a huge amount of football in recent seasons, suffering few injuries of note, and he looks like a footballer running on empty and with age catching up with him.
The Brazil international shouldn’t be sold this summer – far from it – but Liverpool should be looking at signing a new top class striker, or playing Diogo Jota ahead of him regularly when he returns.
