LFC Daytrippers contributor Grizz Khan has been discussing Roberto Firmino following the club’s heavy defeat at Aston Villa during a recent edition of the podcast.
The Premier League champions were on the receiving end of a 7-2 thumping courtesy of Dean Smith’s side, but when discussing the performance of a number of individuals, Khan chose to focus on Firmino amongst others.
The Brazilian is yet to score in the English top flight so far this season, prompting the podcaster to discuss the player’s ability to finish chances. Here is what he had to say:
“I’ll say it how it is: Bobby is an atrocious finisher. I’m going to let my eyes and my judgement make the call here.”
TIF Thoughts…
Firmino arrived at Anfield from Hoffenheim in the summer of 2015 in a deal reportedly worth £36.9m (as per Transfermarkt). To date, he has played 249 times for the Merseyside giants, scoring 78 goals and providing his teammates with 62 assists.
Is it time Liverpool look to replace Roberto Firmino?
Yes
No
Despite playing as a centre-forward for Liverpool, you’ll notice there isn’t a huge difference between the number of goals he has scored and the number of assists he has provided. Therefore, it could be argued that he is as much of a creator as he is a goalscorer – but Khan puts it down to him being an ‘atrocious’ finisher.
Last season, the £64.8m-rated attacker scored nine goals in 38 league appearances (via WhoScored), making him the lowest scorer of Jurgen Klopp’s front three (as per Transfermarkt).
However, according to the Premier League website, Firmino has a similar percentage of shots on target (43%) to teammates Sadio Mane (also 43%) and Mohamed Salah (45%) – while of the three, he has missed the smallest number of big chances (52). Therefore, the stats may not back up Khan’s theory, though the jury may still be out on this one.