Hat-trick hero Mohamed Salah got the headlines following Liverpool’s United demolition but Klopp took time out to praise Firmino.
Following Liverpool’s 5-0 hammering of historic rivals Manchester United on Sunday in Premier League action, most of the plaudits naturally went to hat-trick hero Mohamed Salah for his starring turn for the Reds.
Manager Jürgen Klopp, though, sought to credit another attacker for his role in the lopsided landslide result, singling out centre forward Roberto Firmino for his play as false nine, creator, and first line of defence.
“Mo gets a lot of attention and rightly so,” Klopp noted. “But Bobby, for people with football knowledge, I’m pretty sure when he finishes playing people will write books about the way he interpreted the false-nine position.
“I don’t say he invented it or we invented it, but with the way he plays from time to time it looks like it. There are different things to do on the pitch, so yeah, Bobby knows how much we appreciate what he is doing.”
Firmino and Salah are likely to be given the match off when Liverpool mid-week against Preston North End in the League Cup, but will expect to be back in the starting eleven next Saturday against Brighton.
