Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson made the point of talking up Roberto Firmino despite Diogo Jota scoring a hat-trick after being selected in his place against Atalanta in last night’s Champions League clash.
The Reds were superb as they beat their Italian opponents 5-0 away from home, an emphatic result following a memorable performance from summer signing Jota as he led the attack.
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Remarkably, the Portugal international has now scored more goals than Firmino has for Liverpool in the entire calendar year, despite only joining them from Wolves in the summer.
Still, Alisson leapt to the defence of Firmino, who does a lot of fine work for LFC whenever he plays, praising his fellow Brazilian for the way he supports the team.
Having initially started out by praising Jota, it seems telling that the goalkeeper then made the point of sticking up for Firmino as well as it looks like the two could now be in competition for a place in Jurgen Klopp’s starting XI.
“He (Jota) is a very hard-working, high quality and humble guy,” Alisson said, as quoted by the Metro.
“He came to help us and has further proved that our team is not just one player.
“We have a very strong squad and group. Today there were a number of changes to the team.
“I don’t even need to talk about the importance of Firmino, for everything he has done for the club and everything he has been doing.
“He is a very supportive player, who works for the team. We need everyone on their toes to achieve our goals going forward.”