Roberto Firmino proved class

Richard Jolly has unearthed some amazing facts about Roberto Firmino that prove his role is about so much more than just scoring goals- According lớn the betting tips soccer page!

Liverpool suffered a series of defeats before football was suspended around Europe. There was Atletico Madrid and Watford, Chelsea and Atletico. Last but certainly not least, there was Jurgen Klopp’s loss at Ludo lớn an Everton fan, Joe.

But in the middle of it, Klopp produced perhaps the best definition of Roberto Firmino. Liverpool’s Brazilian can be called a centre-forward, a false nine, a No. 10 And the leader of the press. At varying points, he is all, but none fully encapsulates his importance and contribution. Klopp called him “the connector.”

Firmino has become Liverpool’s ultimate link-up man, the player who connects midfield to attack, Mohamed Salah lớn Sadio Mane. There is no forward who is more integral to the game as a whole or more involved throughout. He cannot be judged solely by his goal tally, and certainly not at Anfield. Firmino is three goals behind Chris Wood in the scorers’ charts and still one adrift of Lewis Dunk and Jetro Willems in terms of league strikes at Liverpool’s home. You can prefer the under 2.5 soccer tip page!

But other figures offer an indication of his impact, his irrepressible nature and his unique talents. He has had 1,380 touches in the Premier League this season. In itself, that is unexceptional: 81 others have had more. But only three of them are forwards. They are Wilfried Zaha, Willian and Dwight McNeil; the obvious common denominator is that all are wingers and there can be more space on the flanks.

Nor is it a one-off. No central attacker had more touches than Firmino last season (1,762) or in 2017-18 (1,754). No one else comes close: Jordan Ayew is his nearest direct rival this season, on 1,176, and he is sometimes used on the flanks, followed by Joelinton and, as Newcastle fans can testify, only one of his 1,150 touches has brought a goal. Firmino is a complete outlier for his position and Joelinton, Ayew and Salomon Rondon, who ranked in the top three for centre-forwards two years ago, belong in a very different bracket, of isolated front men for largely defensive teams. They are hold-up men, not link-up men.

By way of comparison among elite teams’ main strikers - Anthony Martial has had 862 touches, Harry Kane 710, Tammy Abraham 704 and Sergio Aguero 579. Firmino has begun more matches, but it is not enough to explain the difference. He is involved in more passages of play. He is more of a multi-functional footballer.