It was fitting the Roberto Firmino no-look finish returned to Anfield on the day Liverpool threatened to disappear from view in the title race. Arsenal were annihilated with a swagger and a smile and the Brazilian forward was their tormentor once again. He could not have timed a return to centre stage any better.
When Jürgen Klopp claimed Liverpool had room for improvement before Arsenal’s latest ravaging at Anfield it was his forward line, and arguably Firmino in particular, he had in mind. Liverpool’s pursuit of that elusive 19th league championship has been based so far on a formidable defence – one that has conceded only eight league goals all season – but now the forward line that carried them to last season’s Champions League final is hitting its collective stride too.
The parts are all in place. Firmino’s mesmerising display, with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané responding in kind to the Brazilian’s prompting, provides Manchester City and Tottenham with as much cause for concern as Liverpool’s healthy lead at the Premier League summit.
Liverpool have answered every question that has been put to them this season whether it concern resolve, resilience, strength in depth, consistency or focus. An early test of their nerve arrived when Ainsley Maitland-Niles’s opener put Klopp’s team behind in a league game at Anfield for the first time in 364 days. With the home crowd expectant in light of recent results and Tottenham’s surprise home defeat by Wolves there could have been cause for anxiety to creep into Liverpool’s play. Firmino’s emphatic response ensured there would be no time for that. In 90 seconds, all it took for the Brazilian to turn a deficit into a lead, Liverpool had ticked another box.
Firmino’s work-rate and movement have not been questioned during a campaign that has not always brought reward for the Liverpool No 9. There have been flashes rather than sustained spells of excellence, signs of understandable fatigue in some games, but Arsenal felt the full impact of his influence here. Roaming behind Mané and Salah, with Xherdan Shaqiri also given licence to create from deep, Firmino sowed confusion throughout the visiting ranks. Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos were too preoccupied with Salah and Mané to track Firmino’s runs; Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka were simply overwhelmed.
Fortune assisted in Liverpool’s equaliser but industry shaped Firmino’s first league goal on home soil since April. The Brazil international instigated the move that led to his tap-in when he glided past Torreira before releasing Salah on the edge of the Arsenal area. He was the one moving, alert to possibility, when the ball dropped into his lap via a deflection off Mustafi. The open invitation to produce one of his no-look finishes was not passed up.
Firmino’s sensational second demonstrated speed of thought as well as the confidence to weave through an appalling Arsenal defence. This time Mané deserved the credit for harrying Torreira out of possession. His strike partner took over, driving at the retreating visitors, evading one lame challenge from Mustafi plus another from Papastathopoulos before sizing up Bernd Leno and leaving the Arsenal keeper flat-footed with a cool finish into the bottom corner. Other Arsenal defenders, nowhere near Firmino, fell over instinctively, it seemed, as the goal unfolded in slow motion. It was the forward’s seventh goal against the Gunners in the Premier League and he was not finished. Liverpool were about to turn on the style and turn Arsenal back into a latter-day Arsène Wenger side.
Firmino was involved in Liverpool’s fourth when collecting a superb clearance from Alisson, the team’s commanding and creative goalkeeper, and sending Salah through for another fiercely contested penalty. The Egypt international’s sublime touch for Mané’s convincing finish, Liverpool’s third of the rout, will have added to Klopp’s conviction that his team are gradually rediscovering the exhilarating style of last season. It was evidenced again in the glorious back-heel that Salah sent through for Fabinho to stretch Leno with a low drive in the second half.
Firmino’s hat-trick arrived from the penalty spot, his effort swept past the Arsenal keeper having once again waited for his opponent to commit. He was offered the opportunity to claim the match ball by the designated penalty-taker Salah.
“Mo Salah gave the penalty to Bobby and I almost cried because we all know how much Mo wants to score goals,” gushed Klopp. “It was really nice.”
The Brazilian raised three fingers to the Kop in celebration, turned and made a heart gesture towards his family in the Main Stand and beamed a smile as Anfield reverberated to the tune of his name. The Kop’s next song concerned Liverpool sitting top of the league. It will be aired regularly in the months ahead.
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