http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...dew-james-mcarthur-jurgen-klopp-a7387906.html
Alan Pardew:
[article]“Firmino plays that striker’s role really clever, you don’t really know where he is and it’s unnatural for centre halves. He pulls you around, pops up in midfield, then when he’s in midfield, someone else replaces him. It’s like a piston in an engine working there.”[/article]
http://www.espn.co.uk/football/engl...-system-and-liverpool-are-reaping-the-rewards
Michael Cox:
[article]Firmino, by contrast, is suited to the style of play and it begins with his pressing ability. While Benteke is a static figure, Firmino is always on the move. His job isn't generally to win the ball himself, but instead to pressure a defender, forcing him to turn in a particular direction and play a pass towards a full-back.
Firmino effectively helps Liverpool to split the pitch in half, meaning they can they focus their pressing on one side and box in the opposition. It proved effective at Palace, with the home side rarely able to play out of danger.
There is more to him than that, though. He's naturally an attacking midfielder rather than a centre-forward and so offers tremendous creativity when he drops deep. With Sadio Mane charging into scoring positions from the right flank, it works excellently.
Firmino has only recorded one assist this season but has created 25 chances, an excellent return from nine Premier League starts. His teammates simply haven't been converting them effectively, which is why assist numbers sometimes offer a misleading picture of a creative player's impact.
In theory, he is something of a false nine, an unnatural striker who will move towards play rather than running in behind. Using a player in his mould can sometimes result in teams playing in front of their opponents, never seeking to penetrate.
But
Firmino can move in both directions effectively, coming short to become involved in build-up play, or spinning in behind to turn the opposition; his goal on Saturday demonstrated that he can provide pace beyond a defence to offer another dimension to Liverpool's play.
It's a simple concept but relatively rare amongst modern strikers and it makes him extremely difficult to mark. He has
four goals in his last six league appearances and is moving towards the type of consistency a title challenger requires from its most advanced player.
"Roberto is a player, who is always involved in all offensive actions and all defensive actions," Klopp said earlier this season. "He really likes doing things like [pressing], because it's a natural skill that he knows. It's a nice opportunity to win the ball and be close [to the opposition goal], that's why he's doing it. He doesn't think too much, he's an instinctive player; that's really, really strong in these situations. He can play nearly all offensive positions."
Despite that versatility, it's difficult to imagine Firmino will regularly be moved from the centre-forward position. Despite Daniel Sturridge's EFL Cup double against Tottenham in midweek, he now appears Liverpool's Plan B. Their pressing and interplay was noticeably poor when he started upfront against Manchester United and Liverpool improved significant when he departed and Firmino played alone upfront.
There's been a slight shift in the style of top-level strikers in recent years.
Initially the likes of Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero, Luis Suarez and Alexis Sanchez were considered second strikers, the type who needed to be played just behind a traditional centre-forward, who offers more height and aerial ability.
But with teams playing increasingly high-energy, technical football and wanting good ball-playing skills from across the side, these dynamic South American forwards are now most at home upfront. It's now entirely normal to think of Aguero as a No. 9, despite the fact he's only played that role for a couple of seasons. Meanwhile, Sanchez is at last experiencing something similar at Arsenal.
Soon, we might start to consider Firmino in these kinds of terms, as one of the most effective strikers in the division. Judging by his brilliant finish on Saturday, he has the potential to develop further and become a truly ruthless centre-forward.[/article]
http://www.squawka.com/news/roberto...ent-of-destruction/812958#cSorAAp0M6zYBYoA.99
Squawka:
[article]
None of Liverpool’s other options at centre-forward come close to his numbers for defensive actions inside the opposition’s half, nor can they match up to his ability to make the most of the opportunities his hunger to close defenders and midfielders tends to produce. Since Klopp took over at Anfield, only N’Golo Kante has made more tackles in the opposition’s half in the Premier League. Roberto Firmino is Gegenpressing made flesh. Tireless, technically brilliant and tenacious in his pursuit of the ball.
As a runner he makes sacrifices that would be beyond the ego of other strikers, sprinting across the face of goal to draw a defender or two without any hope of scoring himself. It’s a move that has gifted goals to his deeper-lying teammates, arriving late in the box to enjoy a clear shot on goal with the opposition dragged out of position.
Unfortunately, assists are only granted to those who play the final ball, not those who make that final ball possible. Firmino has been directly responsible for more goals than his boots have touched. Even so, he has still been directly involved in 22 goals in 34 Premier League appearances since October 8 2015.
When he is in command of the ball, more often than not, he makes sure every touch matters.
Over that period same period, no player has completed more passes inside the opposition’s box than Firmino, who has found a teammate 33 times in the area, creating 19 chances and helping to conjure up so many more by supplying the pass before the final ball.
It is not just the speed at which Liverpool rush at their rivals when on the attack but the precision of the inter-play and decisions made by Klopp’s forwards that makes the Reds so dangerous and impressive.
With a pass completion rate of 55.93% inside the penalty area, Firmino is also his team’s the most accurate passer in the area of the pitch where time and space is at an absolute premium – rarely does he dally in possession. That is not his job, yet neither is he some sort of moments player, flitting in or out of games. Firmino is a constant.
If playmakers are said to be the players to set the tempo for their teammates, the Brazilian is a footballer forever trying to up the BPM for Klopp on the field.
He is almost always available for a pass, always looking to pounce on the half-turn, always buzzing around a defence to try and find new angles and gaps and squeeze into, but never does he dwell. Before he has the opportunity to do so he has taken the ball past someone, given it back to receive it again in a better position or darted off on one of his decoy runs to open up more space.
He is the ultimate middle man, and in many ways that’s exactly what Klopp requires. Liverpool are a side that tries to play in perpetual transition – a team that is always in the middle of something, be it pressing, counter-attacking or creating danger at will.
It is when they are forced to stop or stay in one fixed state that they tend to fall apart. Burnley halted their momentum at Turf Moor and the Reds were partly broken by the shock of their own inertia as much as anything else. When Manchester United rocked up at Anfield with the sole intent to make the game as static as possible, they suffered too.
Liverpool are at their best when the opposition can be caught in the midst of their own confusion, often inside their own half, and kept there, which is exactly where Firmino does his best work. Of the 45 take-ons he has completed since Klopp’s arrival, 21 have come in front of the opposition’s penalty area from 34 attempts – a success rate of 61.77% with almost half of his successful dribbles coming from within the zone often designated as “the hole”.
However, he isn’t a striker like Sturridge nor a midfielder like Lallana. His purpose lies somewhere in between these definitions, and by embracing that
Liverpool have found a front man who doesn’t quite play up front, and it’s driving their opponent’s to destruction, one touch at a time.[/article]
