Ian Rush shared that he thought if there was one player that Liverpool relied on then it was Roberto Firmino.
The Reds legend heaped praise on the Brazilian attacker and even compared the player to himself when analysing what made him so impressive.
“Everyone knows how amazing Mohamed Salah is but if you’re looking at one player Liverpool rely on it’s Bobby Firmino,” said Rush on Sky Sports News, as quoted by the broadcaster’s official website.
“With his closing down he reminds me a little bit of myself, not only does he work hard for the team, he’s also very skilful – he does everything.
“He may not be regularly getting 30 goals a season but he makes the opposition make mistakes, he is a rare breed of a Brazilian and I think his talents suit the Premier League down to a T.
“He is tireless, every manager would love a player like that in his team. We are very, very lucky that we have him in our side.”
Firmino has featured 42 times for the Reds this season across all competitions, scoring 23 goals, while creating 13.
The Reds attacker arrived at Anfield in 2015 from Hoffenheim and is contracted to stay at the Reds until 2020.
OPINION
Firmino should be flattered that a legendary player like Rush opted to compare himself with the Brazilian. The Reds attacker has been amazing this season and it’s disappointing that Mohamed Salah’s goalscoring exploits do tend to see him get overlooked. It’s not like Firmino hasn’t been racking up the goals as well, as 23 is an impressive amount to get. Jurgen Klopp probably realises how important Firmino is to his team, and it’s easy to see why Rush thinks he’s the most important player in the Reds line-up. The Brazilian is much more of an all-rounder than Salah and when he’s having a bad day in front of goal, he finds another way to make a positive impact. Firmino’s performances next season will be vital to the Reds having any chance of lifting the Premier League trophy.