Roberto Firmino came back to haunt Hoffenheim on Wednesday night as he spearheaded an unstoppable Liverpool attacking display.
Anfield played stage to a standout performance from the No.9 against his former employers as the Reds cruised to a 4-2 win and a place in the Champions League group stages.
The Brazilian once again thrived alongside Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah in dissecting and, at times, humiliating the Bundesliga side’s defence.
Though he’ll score easier goals than his second half tap in, he may not come up with a more original celebration as he provided Reds fans with some added entertainment.
He was at his gloriously illusive best, dropping deep to play technician and invite the runs of his two wingers, working the channels when required and putting in an all-action masterclass.
Firmino was unsurprisingly heavily involved in an emphatic first half for Klopp’s men, who were three goals to the good within the opening 21 minutes.
Liverpool’s central striker set the tone early on as he played a perfectly weighted through ball to unleash Mane’s pace and give Hoffenheim a stern warning of how dangerous it was to hold a high line.
He followed this up shortly after with an almost identical pass to Mane, who waited patiently before feeding the overlapping run from eventual scorer Emre Can. A goal typical of Klopp’s reign on Merseyside.
Moments later, Liverpool were two up as Firmino made a jinking run inside on his right foot, before feeding Georginio Wijnaldum, whose effort onto the post was finally rebounded in by Salah.
Firmino did turn direct provider for his side’s third, matching Can’s earlier run beyond Mane and setting the German up for an easy second with a left-footed cross. 3-0 turned out to be easy work.
It was arguably one of the 25-year-old’s best performances in a Liverpool shirt as he took further strides towards dismissing previous doubts that he could not shine without the presence of Philippe Coutinho.
Here’s a recap of his best bits…
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