Liverpool 5-2 AS Roma: 3 key battles that decided the game

#2 Roberto Firmino vs Manolas

Firmino has quietly gone under the radar, but still remains Liverpool's most important player

This match is yet another example of Roberto Firmino's how entire season has been - absolutely outstanding but somehow still under Salah's enormous shadow.

It might have been said again and again, but if there is one player without whom the entire Liverpool structure would crumble, it has to be their Brazilian forward. The number of times he tracked back all the way to defend and then arrived just behind Salah and Mane while attacking has to be too much to be believable.

While his goals weren't wonder strikes, they were the exemplification of his ability to turn up at the right place at the right time. It also made things easy that Roma played a ridiculously high line to keep the Liverpool attackers in check.

Firmino made life difficult for Roma's central defender Manolas, who like Juan Jesus, was unable to keep up with the pace of his opponent. When Firmino dropped back to help his midfield, Manolas was often in two minds - whether to mark his man or the space - and this was well exploited by Mane who cut into the centre.

Firmino vs Manolas - stats

If La Magica want a repeat of their quarterfinals heroics, they need to switch to a new system of defending and one that doesn't afford so much space in the final third. Another thing would be to stop trying to catch the Reds with an offside trap. Their attackers are far too clever and far too fast to be bogged down by that.