Liverpool FC old boy Jamie Carragher has called upon Jurgen Klopp to bench the under-fire Roberto Firmino for the upcoming few games as the Brazillian international finds himself in a struggle for a first-team spot following Diogo Jota’s brilliant run of form in recent games.
The Portuguese forward has been in scintillating goalscoring form ever since his move to Anfield this summer from Wolves, and despite being brought in to provide cover for the Reds’ iconic frontline, Jota has exceeded expectations with his recent showings, putting Firmino’s spot in the XI at danger.
Speaking to TalkSport, Carragher said that despite Firmino being one of the best Liverpool FC players in recent times, he had lost his usual touch on the ball over the last couple of games, and a spell on the bench could work as a motivational factor for the player to bounce back from his recent below-par performances.
“Firmino isn’t in great form right now but that could change if Liverpool get to a final, but I don’t think he was in great form last season either.”
“Even though Liverpool won the league, certain things got masked. Firmino didn’t score a goal at home in the Premier League until the last game until Chelsea.”
“Liverpool fans are educated enough to know that Firmino’s role is not to be scoring the goals. Liverpool’s goalscorers play wide and they know he can create, win the ball back and start the press. But even when I looked at his pressing stats last weekend, they aren’t the numbers they usually are.”
“It doesn’t mean if he goes out and Jota goes in that that’s the end of his career. He should just sit on the bench for three or four games.”
With the final international break of 2020 looming large, it would be interesting to see what changes does Jurgen Klopp decide on making when his players return to the first-team fold at Anfield following the end of their international duty.