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and was afforded a standing ovation when substituted late on
after a dazzling display in a 1-0 win, Klopp’s first as LFC boss.
The following weekend Firmino was a ‘false nine’ away at
Chelsea. He created the opening goal for Philippe Coutinho
in a 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge and three weeks later the
Brazilian duo tore Manchester City apart at the Etihad, teeing
each other up for a goal and an assist apiece in a 4-1 win.
Not only did Firmino have a first goal for his new club, he
also had his new position.
Number nine dream
After failing to score until Halloween, he ended season
2015/16 as Liverpool’s leading goalscorer in the Premier
League. His 10 goals included a brilliant double in a 3-3 draw
against Arsenal – his first Anfield goals – and two more in a
5-4 victory at Norwich City.
Scoring in a 3-0 Premier League win at home to
Manchester City and a 2-0 Europa League win at home
to Manchester United in the space of eight days further
endeared him to the Anfield faithful, who started chanting
‘Bobby Firmino!’ Soon his team-mates were calling him
Bobby too.
Firmino’s changeable hairstyles were becoming a talking-
point – he got his first of 12 goals in season 2016/17 at Burton
Albion in the League Cup sporting a topknot – while his goal
celebrations caught the eye.
Scoring in a 5-1 win against Hull City prompted Firmino and
Coutinho to celebrate while covering an eye and waving an
arm – a move inspired by Brazilian singer Wesley Safadao’s
hit Fala aqui com a minha mao (‘Talk here with my hand’)
- before he ripped his shirt off after clinching a 4-2 win at
Crystal Palace and fired his hands like pistols.
An Anfield double against Swansea included a brilliant
volley. Then one of Firmino’s most memorable goals came
when he smashed in another volley, just moments after
Coutinho had equalised, to give the Reds a crucial 2-1 win at
Stoke City. It helped Liverpool to qualify for the
2017/18 Champions League, a competition
Firmino has excelled in.
The summer of 2017 saw Bobby marry
fiancee Larissa Periera in his hometown of
Maceio and Liverpool sign Mohamed Salah
from AS Roma. With Christian Benteke having
already departed to Crystal Palace, the no9
shirt was vacant so Firmino switched numbers
to allow Salah to have his preferred no11. It led
to one of the Kop’s most popular songs...but
not for another season.The entertainer
Liverpool’s new-look front three of Firmino,
Mane and Salah were a revelation in 2017/18.
Combining pace, guile and goals, they netted
91 times between them as the Reds went all
the way to the Champions League final.
Firmino struck 27 of those goals, the best
return of his club career. It surpassed the 22 he
netted in 2013/14 for Hoffenheim and included
an Anfield goal against his former club in a
Champions League qualifier, but it was the
second of the brace he got in a 3-3 draw in
Seville that got a lot of Reds excited.
When Mane’s shot was pushed across goal
by Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico, it landed for
Firmino to tap in. But as he struck the ball into
the net with his left foot, he turned his head
away. It was dubbed the ‘no-look finish’ and,
having since done the same against Swansea,
West Ham and Arsenal, it’s become a Firmino
trademark.
Liverpool racked up 7-0 wins
against NK Maribor and
Spartak Moscow, Firmino
netting in both, and he
was also on target in a
4-3 Premier League win
against Manchester City,
ending their 30-game
unbeaten run. The Reds
then knocked City out
of the Champions
League, winning
3-0 at Anfield
and a 2-1 at the
Etihad, Firmino
guiding home
the winner.
In the semi-
final first leg
against Roma
at Anfield he
was on fire,63