Jurgen Klopp praised Roberto Firmino for a “super game” after Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Leicester City in the Premier League.
Firmino headed in the sealer at Anfield on Sunday as Liverpool extended their unbeaten league run at home to a club record 64 games.
Often criticised, Firmino scored his second goal of the season and the Brazilian’s 48 passes, 41 successful passes and six shots were the most he has managed in any Premier League game this campaign.
Klopp lauded the forward and said he was pleased to see the 29-year-old also get on the scoresheet, heading in James Milner’s 86th-minute corner.
“We were really happy and relieved. He deserved it so much. He played a super game, he played a super game and was so important for us again,” the Liverpool manager told a news conference.
“You could see in the face of all the players when he scored that everybody thought, ‘Yes, exactly the right goalscorer’.”
Firmino’s goal came after Diogo Jota doubled Liverpool’s lead following Jonny Evans’ 21st-minute own goal.
Klopp was proud of his players for setting a club record with their unbeaten league run at home, but said it was something he would reflect on at another time.
“Look, my problem is that in the moment I spoke so much about football, I have so much to think about how we can play the next game and things like this,” he said.
“So, it doesn’t feel it. Maybe it’s not right but there will be a moment, for sure, in the future when I think back – and hopefully it will be a different number and not only 64.
“It’s absolutely incredible, but it’s all about the boys. It’s really difficult to achieve something like this but when you think about how tight a lot of games were then it doesn’t happen just like this. You have to really dig in for that and the boys did that.
“I said it a few times before, we really enjoy playing here. It’s our ground, it’s our home, everything feels home – even when the people are not here. It doesn’t feel right but we have to do it and we are happy that we can play.
“So, what the boys put out there on the pitch performance-wise is absolutely incredible and it’s the only reason for the number. Obviously it’s pretty tricky and pretty difficult to set records for this incredible club because our fathers or grandfathers, they were obviously pretty good. So having this record now, I’m happy for the players but it doesn’t feel like a big moment, to be honest, because we play on Wednesday and that’s actually my only concern at the moment.”