Diogo Jota’s difficulty in retaining possession against Manchester City yesterday highlighted the continued importance of Roberto Firmino.
On the surface of it, Jota did what he always does – stick the ball in the net. The timing of that goal was so crucial to Liverpool gaining a foothold in the game and shouldn’t be downplayed.
Although it was a simple enough finish, Jota’s decision to hold his position in the penalty area was excellent centre-forward play. It was his 15th Premier League goal of the season and 21st in all competitions. So far so good.
What let the 25-year-old down was his ability to find a teammate when in possession. Jota finished the game with a pass accuracy of just 53%. He completed just eight of his 15 attempted passes.
This was comfortably the worst percentage of any player who started the game on either side.
In total the Portuguese forward also had just 25 touches of the ball. It could be argued that he got the touch that really mattered, but as the focal point of their attack, Liverpool really needed Jota to hold the ball better.
Comparing the two
For comparison, it’s worth looking at the same statistics from the last time Firmino started a game for Liverpool. That was last time out in the Premier League in the 2-0 win over Watford.
Although the opposition was significantly weaker, Firmino managed over double the passes that Jota did on Sunday. Claiming a passing accuracy of 92% from 36 attempts.
The Brazilian also more than doubled Jota’s touch count. Bobby touched the ball 59 times during the game.
Taking into account the strength of City warping the numbers, the trend continues if you look at the last time Jota started centrally for Liverpool. That was away to Arsenal in March.
Jota made 72% of his 18 attempted passes that day and touched the ball even less than on Sunday – just 23 times.
Although there is much more to both player’s game, it does serve to highlight the differences in their styles.
Two invaluable forwards for Liverpool
It’s worth mentioning that Jota scored in both of the games against City and Arsenal. He even scored in the game against Watford where Firmino started as the nominal centre-forward.
For that reason and many others, he is invaluable to Liverpool. But The Reds can’t play the same way in every game of the season. Different teams offer different threats.
Sometimes you need a player who can put their foot on the ball and take the sting out of the game. That player has often been Firmino down the years for Liverpool.
Bobby’s contract is due to expire in summer 2023. Should Liverpool decide against tying the 30-year-old down for a further few years, they will lose a wily operator who adds a totally different dimension to their attack.
There’s a reason Ian Wright recently labelled him as ‘elite’ on The Kelly & Wrighty Show. There are very few players in world football who can provide what Firmino does. Liverpool should think very carefully before deciding to cut him loose.
All stats from Fotmob.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
