‘More bow than arrow’: International boss shares his plans for £180k-a-week Liverpool ace tonight

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Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino is in line for a free role in Brazil’s World Cup qualifier tonight, head coach Tite has suggested to UOL.

The Reds ace will be hoping to rediscover his goalscoring touch in the coming days after a lean period at club level.

Firmino has struggled for form recently, with just one goal and two assists from 12 competitive games for Liverpool this term.

The 29-year-old has fared better at international level recently, with two goals and one assist from the two World Cup qualifiers in October.

Tonight, Brazil take on Venezuela in Sao Paulo (9:30pm local time, 12:30am GMT), hoping to make it three wins out of three after the victories over Bolivia and Peru.

Speaking to UOL, Tite suggested that he plans to deploy Firmino in a free role, while Everton’s Richarlison is to take the centre-forward slot.

“Richarlison (will be) at No. 9, Firmino can be a freer player, more bow than arrow, unlike the other game, more of an articulator,” he said.

“I don’t want to go into more detail, because we try to preserve more information, the opponent takes care of us too.”

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It’s a shame to see Firmino struggling for form, but if he does as well for Brazil this month as he did in the previous international break, he’ll hopefully get a confidence boost for his return to Merseyside.

The £180,000-a-week ace is a player of the highest calibre, with many peers – including the likes of Arsene Wenger and Mauricio Pochettino – speaking very highly of him, and surely it’s only a matter of time before he’s back to his best.