Jurgen Klopp breaks silence on Roberto Firmino's decision to leave Liverpool at the end of the season
Roberto Firmino scored Liverpool's final goal during the 7-0 thrashing of Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday (March 5). The Brazilian attacker is set to leave Anfield at the end of the season.
Firmino has had a fantastic career for the Reds. Since joining the Anfield club in 2015, he has scored 108 goals and provided 79 assists in 354 matches for the Reds.
Jurgen Klopp spoke about Firmino's departure after the win against the Red Devils. Klopp said:
"It was not an easy decision for him. His goal was the one we all wanted to see today. Outstanding."
Klopp on Roberto Firmino leaving:
"It was not an easy decision for him. His goal was the one we all wanted to see today. Outstanding." #lfc [sky]
Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez, and Mohamed Salah all scored braces against Manchester United with Firmino being the other scorer.
Liverpool are in fifth position in the Premier League after their win. They currently have 42 points on the board after 25 Premier League matches this season.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp happy with 'top performance' against Manchester United
Coming into the clash at Anfield, Manchester United were the favorites to emerge victorious. A 7-0 result in favor of Liverpool was something that very few, if any, would have expected.
Klopp reacted to the win, telling the media after the match (via Liverpool's official website):
"Freak result, top performance. A really top performance from the start, I thought the way we started the game was really special, the best for a long, long, long, long, long, long time. We were there, we were aggressive but we played football. We were calm in the right moments, super-lively, super-active in other moments [and] after 25 minutes it opened up a bit."
"United came a bit better into the game but the late goal before half-time was a sensational goal: what Robbo is doing there, cutting inside and is then really calm – what we were actually asking for, that in these moments we have to give ourselves time to get into the right position – and then Cody realised it early enough that Robbo wants to pass the ball there and a super finish."
He added:
"Second half starts, I don’t think the second half could start better with the two goals we forced there pretty much and from that moment on the boys were flying. Then it was really difficult to play against us and how I said, the performance is important, three points is even more important, and the result is just the result."
Liverpool fans chanting “Viva Ronaldo” in front of Eric Tan Hag.
Karma for disrespecting Cristiano Ronaldo.
https://t.co/VVYoqlj013
Liverpool will return to action on March 11 as they take on Bournemouth in a Premier League away clash. Manchester United, meanwhile, will face Real Betis at Old Trafford in the round of 16 first leg of the UEFA Europa League on March 9.