The truth about Roberto Firmino shows that Liverpool critics are wrong again

All goals are equal but some are more equal than others. Whether it’s a forward pushing the ball home from close range after a goal scoop fight, or a stylish midfielder scores from within his own half of the field, they all add one to the scoreboard.

However, some inevitably carry more weight than others. The final goal in a 6-0 win might put the icing on the cake, but it’s the last-minute winners who ultimately have the most value.

Ask Roberto Firmino. Never mind that the Brazilian is the orchestrator of Liverpool’s press, and that his selfless work in getting defenders out of position allows players like Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah to score more goals than they would otherwise. The fact that Firmino doesn’t score as many goals seems to be unduly annoying to fans and pundits alike, meaning he’s constantly in the spotlight.

However, anyone who takes a closer look at his track record will soon see that Liverpool’s number nine is a master at scoring goals that play an important role in shaping the bottom line of a game.

The Football Critic website has a statistic called “decisive goals”, which are what determine the final result of a match. Winning goals are the best example, but a tie in a game that ends in a tie will also count.

There were nine players who scored at least seven decisive goals in the Premier League in 2019/20, and Liverpool were the only club to have more than one of the men in question. In fact, they had three, as Firmino, Mane and Salah each scored seven.

But Firmino picked up his sept of decisive goals from an overall total of nine, instead of the 18 and 19 scored by Mane and Salah respectively. And it has been a theme throughout his time in Merseyside.

The 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur was the 50th league game that Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have won by a single goal. The Reds’ three established forwards have inevitably scored most of them, but it is Firmino who is in front, having scored the decisive blow in 10 of a half-century of one-goal victories.

What makes his record more remarkable is that the effort against José Mourinho’s team was his first winning goal in the league at Anfield. Of course, matches are less likely to be close when Liverpool are in their own patch, and in fact 28 of the 50 one-goal wins have come on the road.

But that just further amplifies the importance of Firmino’s contribution away from home. In the Reds’ league title-winning campaign, the Brazilian scored the key goal in five victories. Matches in Southampton, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Tottenham and Wolves were finally won thanks to the Brazilian scoring the winning goal or the last goal of the Liverpool match.

The goals at Selhurst Park and Molineux were perhaps the most valuable of all, as in both games the Reds were tied with one goal up, only for Firmino to win the matches with a goal in the final six minutes of the matches.

And we must not overlook their vital contributions in other competitions. Liverpool’s triumphant 2018/19 Champions League campaign started with a 3-2 win over Paris Saint-Germain in which Firmino settled things with a goal in the 92nd minute. There is no point in speculating on what it could have happened in the other five games of the group if the match had ended in a draw, but with the Reds only reaching the last 16 with goals scored, every point was certainly crucial.

And after becoming champion of everything, Liverpool became the king of the world thanks to the fact that their Brazilian forward scored the winning goal in both the semifinal and the final of the Club World Cup, and the first match was decided in the minute 91.

Goles pays the rent and Firmino does his part. More than his fair share, in fact, once he realizes how important many of his goals have been.

When it comes to the crisis, Bobby is the guy.