{"id":1104425,"date":"2019-09-02T18:29:05","date_gmt":"2019-09-02T17:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1104425"},"modified":"2019-09-02T18:29:05","modified_gmt":"2019-09-02T17:29:05","slug":"robertson-firmino-defensive-importance-liverpool-lost","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/robertson-firmino-defensive-importance-liverpool-lost\/","title":{"rendered":"Robertson hails Firmino’s defensive importance to Liverpool: “We’d be lost without him”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrew Robertson says Liverpool would be lost without the defensive exploits of\u00a0Roberto Firmino.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 27-year-old played a crucial role as the Reds inflicted a 3-0 defeat on Burnley at the weekend, providing a goal and an assist to maintain their winning start to the Premier League season.<\/p>\n

Firmino’s defensive exploits: Five things to know…\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Firmino’s role has often been described as that of a selfless striker, in that he drops deep to allow for overlapping runs from Salah and Mane.<\/li>\n
  • In the 2017\/18 Premier League season no striker attempted more tackles than Firmino (89).<\/li>\n
  • Last season he was again placed in the top 10 for tackles attempted by a striker in the league (34).<\/li>\n
  • Teammate Van Dijk recently labelled Firmino the greatest player<\/a> he has ever lined up alongside.<\/li>\n
  • Robertson has now echoed the Dutchman’s views, lauding Firmino’s displays on the pitch as “so important”.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    https:\/\/audioboom.com\/posts\/7354781-emery-must-resist-his-crystal-palace-tribute-act-to-punish-unsettled-spurs<\/p>\n

    In netting the third at Turf Moor, Firmino became the first Brazilian to score 50 goals in the Premier League, while simultaneously joining an elite list of nine Liverpool players to have bagged a half-century since the competition’s inception 27 years ago.<\/p>\n

    However, it’s not the striker’s goalscoring exploits which have caught the attention of his teammates, but rather an ability to defend from the front which have yielded rave reviews from Robertson.<\/p>\n

    He said: \u201cWith his work-rate, his technique, his goals and his all-round play, I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anyone like him.<\/p>\n

    \n

    Nine players have scored 50+ Premier League goals for Liverpool:<\/p>\n

    ??????? Robbie Fowler (128)
    ??????? Steven Gerrard (120)
    ??????? Michael Owen (118)
    ?? Luis Suarez (69)
    ?? Fernando Torres (65)
    ?? Mohamed Salah (57)
    ?? Dirk Kuyt (51)
    ??????? Daniel Sturridge (50)
    ?? Roberto Firmino (50)<\/p>\n

    New name. pic.twitter.com\/xSx1sNPiAf<\/a><\/p>\n

    — Squawka (@Squawka) August 31, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n