Jamie Carragher told Saturday Night Football on Sky Sports that he was ‘surprised’ by Jurgen Klopp’s decision to take off Roberto Firmino during Liverpool’s 2-1 win against Aston Villa over the weekend.
After being on the bench against Real Madrid in midweek, Firmino returned to the fold for Liverpool, who were looking to close the gap on the top four places.
Firmino did have a goal controversially chalked off in the first half after Diogo Jota was adjudged to have been offside following a ball over the top from Trent Alexander-Arnold.
But Carragher feels that Firmino looked ‘a lot sharper’ and ‘brighter’ upon his return to Liverpool’s starting XI.
“He has looked a lot brighter and a lot sharper, Roberto Firmino, he didn’t play in midweek,” said Carragher. “He adds that little bit of freshness.
“I must say that I was surprised Firmino come off because he has done okay. Every time he got on the ball, it seemed like something was going to happen.
“He was finding players. Getting on the ball and turning in between the lines.”
With Liverpool needing to overcome Real Madrid’s 3-1 deficit on Wednesday night, it will be interesting to see if Jurgen Klopp plays all four of his attackers.
Questions were asked before the first leg whether that would happen and Klopp opted to start Jota and put his £29 million false number nine (BBC Sport) on the bench.
But given Jota’s lack of impact in Madrid, it will be interesting to see which way Klopp pushes towards now because Liverpool love a memorable Anfield comeback.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
