Jürgen Klopp has revealed Roberto Firmino’s recent burst of goals came after the player had to be reassured of his value to Liverpool following a long stretch without scoring. The manager described the Brazilian as Liverpool’s “connector”, who gives invaluable service even when not getting on the scoresheet.
Firmino’s finishing has been impeccable over the festive period, as he scored the winning goals against Monterrey and Flamengo in the Club World Cup before two goals in the demolition of Leicester on Thursday. But he had scored only once in the previous 16 Premier League and Champions League and began to worry about his form until Klopp reminded him of his precious contribution beyond goals.
“Bobby has four goals in three games and before that he didn’t score that often,” Klopp said following Liverpool’s 4-0 win at Leicester. “When people tell me previously Bobby didn’t score for a while I didn’t realise. When I think about Bobby I don’t think about scoring. I think about how important he is.
“We had a bit of a talk because for the first time since I knew him he looked a little bit concerned about that fact,” said Klopp of the player who joined Liverpool from Hoffenheim in June 2015. “I told him I am not interested in that number because he is the connector for our team. He is so important for us. He is not the only one who can play that position but he can play that position in a very special way.”
Firmino acknowledged the impact of Klopp’s reassurance by running to embrace his manager on the sideline after one of his goals against Leicester. “Obviously he doesn’t have come [to hug me] every goal but this time he thought I was calm enough to leave him on the pitch in these games and he thought he has to say thank you.”
Meanwhile Brendan Rodgers, who was still managing at Anfield when Firmino was signed, stressed that his young Leicester team must not lose confidence after being given a painful lesson by Liverpool on Thursday. He said he will strive to ensure they get back to winning ways at West Ham on Saturday.
“You are not going to have it all your own way all of the time but this is where the manager comes in to install that belief,” Rodgers said. “You have to go back to your basics again when you lose games like that. You have to work hard, get your aggression back in your game and play your football. That is what I will look to do – give them that confidence back. Mental strength comes from learning experiences and these last two games we will learn from that and be better for it.”
Rodgers said he will make several personnel alterations to freshen up his team for their latest assignment in a hectic schedule. “We will make a number of changes. Players will want to play in every game but it is physically hard to do that to play to the level they want to.
“We just played the Champions League winners and it’s probably positive that we’ve got a game so quickly after because we can focus on that and try to put this game to bed. We’re at the start of our journey and I think it’s important to reiterate that because it showed we were against a top side and they were better than us.”