Firmino’s transformation from average striker to one of our most important and talented players on the pitch is nothing short of incredible. With not only the fans to back his brilliance but the stats as well, there’s every reason to see why he is one of the most underrated players in the Premier League.

Back in the summer of 2015 Liverpool were in desperate need for a new striker after Balotelli failed to fill the gap of Luis Suarez who had since then moved to Barcelona. Brendan Rodgers had eventually settled on Roberto Firmino, a Brazilian striker who had 47 goals in 151 appearances for his former club Hoffenheim. Rodgers was able to snatch him up for a fee of £29M, which looking back on it seemed like a complete bargain.

In his first season at LFC, Firmino managed to bag 10 goals and 7 assists in the Premier League, which included a brace against Arsenal, which resulted in a dramatic 3-3 draw at Anfield. Not to mention his goal and assist against Man City which helped Liverpool cruise to a 4-1 thrashing at the Etihad. Granted this may not be the best return for a striker in the Premier League, his development was only just starting.

Heading into his second season at Liverpool he kicked off his goal scoring run with two goals in the first home game of the season against the then reigning champions Leicester City. He eventually finished the season with 11 goals and 7 assists in 34 premier league appearances for the reds. He was now beginning to cement his place in the team with high praise for his work rate and commitment from Jurgen Klopp.  Fans had also begun to appreciate the effort put in by Firmino and his dominance on the pitch.

For his third and current season for Liverpool , Firmino was put under pressure as fellow top six clubs, including Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal had recruited new strikers, with competition like Alvaro Morata, Alexandre Lacazette and RomeluLukaku it would seem that Firmino would forever be underrated by rival fans. As it turns out though Firmino now has better goal contributions than all of these players. Lacazette has 10 goals and assists in all competitions, Morata has 16 goals and assists and Lukaku has 18 goals and assists but Firmino trumps them all with an astounding 23 goals and assists in all competitions so far. Not only has he been brilliant in the Premier league with 9 goals and 4 assists in 17 appearances, he has also been a stand out player in the Champions League with 6 goals and 3 assists in 6 appearances.

Firmino offers so much more to the club than just being a goalscorer, he’s the engine of this team that keeps our style of play together.  Many fans have now realised this and he has been a fan favourite for quite some time. He is utterly brilliant and the club should do its best to keep hold of such a valuable player.

In my opinion THAT IS THE RISE OF ROBERTO FIRMINO.

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