Danny Murphy was blown away by the midweek performance of Roberto Firmino for Liverpool in the Premier League victory over Tottenham.
The Reds secured a narrow 2-1 win at Anfield over Spurs to leapfrog them to the top of the league table.
With the game heading for a draw, Firmino rose highest in the 90th minute to power in an unstoppable header to the top corner and snatch a late win in front of the 2,000 supporting crowd.
Firmino was influential throughout the entire Spurs contest with a major threat in the final third and he finally got his rewards at the end of the game with his match-winner.
The £29million striker (BBC) silenced some criticism with his third league goal of the season and he remains pivotal to Jurgen Klopp’s side, despite not being an elite finisher like some of his attacking teammates.
BBC pundit and ex-Reds midfielder Murphy hailed Firmino as the overall package following his display against Spurs.
“He’s had a bit of press in the early part of the season when Jota came in and started scoring all the goals – is he the man? Well, tonight, he showed a performance where he was saying I am the man,” Murphy said, as quoted by BBC Sport.
“What I loved about it is he was in the box a lot trying to score goals, which is what you want your striker to do.
“We know he’s brilliant (at dropping deep), great awareness of those around him – good runs, good movement, strong and reliable with the ball. But he kept getting in there. His fitness looks good, he looked hungry.”

TBR’s View:
Diogo Jota’s arrival in the summer was exactly the kind of new face to help Firmino elevate his game even further, albeit the former is now facing a length on the sidelines through injury.
Firmino has been pivotal for a Liverpool team that has won one Premier League and one Champions League in the previous two years, but still plenty question his ability.
The 29-year-old Brazilian remains underrated in the fact that he still possesses a major goal threat around the box on top of his build-up play and 81 goals in a Liverpool shirt shows he knows where the back of the net is.
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