Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has defended Roberto Firmino after his recent struggles in front of goal.
The Brazil international has been a hugely important part of Jurgen Klopp’s side in recent years, with his superb all-round play contributing a great deal to their success in the Champions League and the Premier League.
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Liverpool fans will no doubt still think incredibly highly of Firmino, but it should perhaps be a cause for some concern that the goals have really dried up for him of late.
Even if Firmino is about more than just goals, an attacking player like him could undoubtedly chip in with a few more, with the 29-year-old managing just one strike so far this season.
Last term, he was also not at his best, managing just 12 goals in all competitions, and remarkably scoring just one league goal at home in the entire campaign.
There’s been even more attention on Firmino now that summer signing Diogo Jota has made such a strong start, scoring seven goals for the club already – more than Firmino has managed in the entire calendar year for Liverpool despite playing far more games.
Salah seemed keen to defend Firmino, but even he seemed to suggest he felt his team-mate could score more.
“Since he [Jota] has been here, he’s been scoring a lot, and that has helped us greatly because now we have more options,” Salah told beIN Sports, as quoted by the Metro.
When asked if Jota could replace Firmino, Salah responded: “I can’t say about this because I am not the coach, I can’t decide something like that.
“I can’t look at what Firmino has done for the club and what he gives the team and say he should sit on the bench because his recent scoring output isn’t amazing, this is a player who has given everything to the team for five years and creates so many chances.
“The way our system works in a way sacrifices his scoring output slightly as he drops deeper and gives us the ball on the wings, so I can’t say he should sit on the bench or that he isn’t working to the best of his ability.
“Sure, there can be more goals, but he creates so many chances regardless.”