Liverpool turned in an impressive second-half display at the weekend which saw them dispatch of a spirited Southampton side at Anfield. Mohamed Salah scored his 13th and 14th Premier League goals of the season, but his first has been the subject of much discussion on Twitter.
In the lead-up, prior to Jordan Henderson’s excellent defence-splitting pass, Roberto Firmino dropped deep and seemingly dummied the ball, creating space for those ahead of him. Was it an excellent piece of improvisation, or something straight out of Melwood?
Is Firmino's dummy a training ground move or purely instinctive?
Training ground move
Instinct
Here is what the fans had to say – with some supporters suggesting Firmino’s move was all part of the plan:
These are what the stats don’t show you ?
— bed rn (@cbrforever1222) February 4, 2020
Yes he did the same against Wolves leading up for the second goal
— ray william (@ray789101) February 4, 2020
Did it against wolves too
— Oreva (@Dauntless_Ansel) February 4, 2020
wow
— lil manteen (@bedebangbang) February 4, 2020
Nope. His crime is being a football genius .
the making of the greatest South American to ever grace the premier league. followed by Suarez— That Guy (@GiniMiniManeMo) February 4, 2020
Whereas, others felt it was just pure and instinctive brilliance on the Brazilian’s part:
Pretty unlikely. More likely is Bobby being aware of Hendo’s position and letting it advance at speed furthers the attack immediately.
— xavi (@xzapata99) February 3, 2020
No. Bobby is just that intelligent
— W@ (@WilT_v2) February 4, 2020
Instinct
— LFC4LIFE (@LFC4LIFENET) February 3, 2020
What do we think?
According to these fans, this wasn’t the first time Firmino had made this particular move, suggesting he did something very similar against Wolverhampton Wanderers just a few weeks ago. Whilst he’s certainly not the most prolific of goalscorers, the 28-year-old plays that ‘false nine’ role as well as anybody in world football.