Firmino is the best striker in England and he needs to be
Liverpool must beat Spurs today so it’s just as well...
ROBERTO FIRMINO is the best striker in the Premier League right now. On Tuesday night, I was at the John Smith’s Stadium in Huddersfield to see Liverpool’s comfortable win over David Wagner’s side and the Brazilian was a joy to watch.
He is the standout player in his position because his overall game is outstanding – work-rate, hold-up play, and an ability to pick a pass to find a team-mate.
Firmino has it all. He looks like the complete player and the stats prove he has found consistency in front of goal.
His strike the other night took his season’s total to 19 and he has scored 12 in the last 14 games, having only missed two matches for Jurgen Klopp all season. On their day, when they are in form, Liverpool’s front three of Firmino, Mo Salah and Sadio Mane is even better than Manchester City’s.
Salah’s contribution to Liverpool since he joined last summer has been immense and exceeded all expectations before he joined from Roma. He has been exceptional.
The one disappointment in the front three has been Mane who has had his injuries this season and looked a little out of sorts, although he did score a terrific goal against Manchester City recently.
But Liverpool can forget about any title challenge until they sign a reliable goalkeeper. Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius are not good enough to get in any other Premier League team. Other than being so impressed by Firmino, what I took away from Tuesday night was how negative my old club Huddersfield were.
Normally, you would expect a side in their position to really go for it, especially when they have gone behind, but they hardly troubled Liverpool at all. Not that it made Karius look any better.
When they did threaten in the first-half and got the ball into Liverpool’s penalty area on the one and only occasion, Karius made a mess of a simple save and fumbled the ball.
Then, in the second-half, when Huddersfield punted a long ball which bounced deep in the Liverpool half, Karius, for no apparent reason, came needlessly rushing from his line. He got away with both incidents, but you could feel the panic in the whole stadium.
You can tell the Liverpool defenders do not trust Karius, or his sidekick Mignolet, who is just as bad. They are not good enough for a top side wanting to challenge for honours. And until that position is sorted, Liverpool will not be serious title contenders.
They face Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield today and the game at Huddersfield was the ideal preparation.
Their record against the top six sides is very good under Klopp and you always fancy their chances in this fixture, particularly when they didn’t need a high intensity game against Huddersfield, because they made it so easy for them, while Spurs played a tough game with Manchester United a day later.
As for Spurs, their big problem in the summer might not be who will be coming in, but rather can they keep hold of their big stars. The suggestion is that Harry Kane is extremely happy at the club and does not want to leave. He wants to stay and break records.
The only problem is when – and it is when, not if – the big boys come calling. Will his head be turned then? Certainly, that already seems to be the case with team-mate Dele Alli who joined the CAA agency group that has Kane on its books.
In my experience of dressing rooms, a player makes a decision like that because he is itching for a move. And the big agencies are attracted to a player like Dele Alli because they can see big money too. As it stands Alli still has his original agent for football matters but with Spurs’ strict wage structure, he will only be happy with a bit of extra commercial revenue for so long.
His level of consistency has been excellent over the last couple of seasons and he has scored some brilliant goals and put in some very good performances for club and country. But, at times, he looks distracted.
The manner of Tottenham’s win over Manchester United was very good. They dominated an appalling United side, for whom Paul Pogba was completely anonymous, and thoroughly deserved to win.
But Klopp’s team have had an extra day, which does make a difference playing at the level these teams are playing at.
This is a fixture which gives me the same buzz I get for the Manchester City-Liverpool game and I am really looking forward to being in my commentary seat.
Invariably, these games let you down, but you just know Liverpool and Tottenham will both go out to attack each other.