Ajax win proved Roberto Firmino is vital – he only played 22 minutes

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Liverpool’s win over Ajax showed off why Roberto Firmino is so important to their attack. The Brazilian didn’t start the game at Anfield.

Roberto Firmino played only 22 minutes against Ajax on Tuesday. He didn’t really impact the game much, either, and probably should have scored.

The Brazilian went through one-on-one with Andre Onana but the goalkeeper met his low effort to push it past the post. It was a golden opportunity and one Firmino failed to take.

Despite that, it was hard to come away from the game without thinking that the 29-year-old is a vital player for Liverpool.

Selfless Firmino

Firmino’s strength doesn’t lie in his ability to score goals. It doesn’t really lie in his ability to create them, either. Instead, the Brazilian makes life easier for everyone around him.

We saw the opposite against Ajax as Firmino sat on the bench. Diogo Jota started as the centre-forward, with Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah either side of him.

And what we got was a forward line all trying to do roughly the same thing. They all wanted to run in behind, they all wanted to attack the goal, and they all wanted to score.

That’s not always great. It works like against Atalanta when there is all that space to run in behind but there’s always the risk of what we saw on Tuesday.

There were several times, for instance, where Jota would pick the ball up and look to run. Only Salah has made the run he wants to make and the Portuguese forward looks a little lost with what to do.

And vice versa.

Firmino, though, means Liverpool don’t have that issue. He drops back and drifts wide, pulling defenders about and making those runs easier for Mane and Salah.

He’ll link with the midfield, too, allowing Liverpool to build moves comfortably. They’re all things that he’d done since his £29m move in 2015.

Without all of that, you get Tuesday. Ajax knew how to deal with Liverpool’s runs and that left them blunt, without a different way of doing things.

This is why Jurgen Klopp recently called Firmino a ‘difference-maker’. He can be the difference for every player on his team.