Firmino's decline a real worry for Liverpool's title chances
It was a shot on goal minutes before his withdrawal that effectively summed up Roberto Firmino's current predicament for Liverpool. The Brazilian sought to bend one past compatriot Ederson, despite options at the back post, and ended up firing high and wide in their 1-1 draw with Manchester City over the weekend. Taken off for Xherdan Shaqiri on the hour mark at the Etihad Stadium, Firmino yielded a WhoScored rating of just 6.11, his fourth lowest in a Premier League match since the start of the 2017/18 season, Mohamed Salah's first in a Liverpool shirt.
Just a week earlier, Firmino earned a WhoScored rating of just 6.16 in Liverpool's 2-1 win over West Ham, that his sixth lowest over the same period. Evidently, things aren't going well at all for the Brazil international. Eight games into the season, and Firmino has just one goal and two assists to his name. The poor return in the final third has given his critics ammunition to chastise his form, even if goals have never been a huge part of his game.
Coupled with the performances of summer signing Diogo Jota, who in nine games is within four goals of Firmino's 11-goal league and Champions League haul since the start of 2019/20, and it further strengthens the criticisms aimed in Firmino's direction. The issue here, though is that Firmino has never really been considered an out and out number nine. He doesn't routinely get on the end of crosses and you won't find his name towards the top of the goalscoring charts come the end of the season.
Rather, the Brazilian is a system player, whose willingness to drop deeper to help with the link up play and drag markers out of position to open up space for teammates is vital. In Jurgen Klopp's 4-3-3 setup, this has worked wonders as wingers Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane gleefully cut infield with the ball to capitalise on the space that Firmino opened up, which then allows for Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson to provide additional width from right and left-back, respectively. As one might expect, both forward players rank highly for goals scored since the start of 2017/18, with Salah netting 81 times and Mane adding an additional 54.
Over that same period, Firmino has bagged 37 league goals, but what he lacks in goals, he makes up for with his tenacity off the ball. Since the start of 2017/18 season, only Salah (100) has won possession in the attacking third more times than Firmino (92) at a rate of 0.79 times per game. This season, he has done so just twice in eight matches, at a rate of 0.25 times per game.
Klopp's decision to experiment with a 4-2-3-1 also hasn't helped Firmino, with the Brazilian starting two of eight league matches in the number 10 role behind Salah. Consequently, there is less space between the Brazil international and midfield base, which means he is unable to really maximise the defensive side to his game, a trait that has made Firmino such a key man since Salah signed from Roma.
The hard work off the ball means Firmino is understandably a favourite of Klopp's, but therein lies another issue. A key factor behind Klopp's success is the never-say-die attitude and high pressing that has become synonymous with the German. Firmino has bought into this mantra and he has proven a key man at Anfield as a result. However, since 2017/18, no outfield player has made more Premier League appearances than Firmino (117) totalling 9017 minutes of game time. Now 29, too, it could be that prolonged tiredness is beginning to set in and it has seen his influence drop.
A key side to Firmino's style is his non-stop work ethic and this, of course, has gone down well with Liverpool fans, but time is no longer on his side and as he continues to work hard out of possession, it's beginning to exhaust the Brazilian. The issue for Klopp now is how to return Firmino back to his previous tenacious best.
The capture of Takumi Minamino from Salzburg will have gone some way to easing the burden on Firmino, but, while his performance levels have dipped, the former Hoffenheim man is the glue that holds the Liverpool attack together. Salah and Mane have blossomed due to Firmino's selflessness and it's no coincidence that his two lowest rated performances in the Premier League this season came in games where Liverpool mustered their fewest shots in a top-flight match in 2020/21 - nine against West Ham and 10 in the draw with Manchester City.
If Firmino isn't on song, then the Liverpool attack doesn't function properly and it's a problem Klopp needs to rectify. The Reds boss now has the international break to work out how to get Firmino firing on all cylinders once more as it's clear the forward is currently off the boil and as such Liverpool, despite their lofty position, aren't playing to the high standards supporters have witnessed in recent seasons.
