Mauricio Pochettino has named Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino as one of his top three Premier League players, alongside an “unfair” Manchester City midfielder.
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Pochettino has been speaking to the media for one of the first times since his Tottenham sacking last November.
The Argentinean found time away from fluttering his eyelashes at Newcastle to name his three favourite Premier League players, presumably aside from Moussa Sissoko and Harry Kane.
“De Bruyne, one. Aguero. Another?” he told Sky Sports.
“De Bruyne is going to be unfair, I don’t know what I can tell you.
“Firmino, maybe? Yes, but there are hundreds of players I can describe. Nearly all my favourites.”
The selection of Firmino may come as a surprise to some, considering he has scored as many goals (77) in 228 appearances under Jurgen Klopp than Sadio Mane has in 161 games.
Mo Salah is even further ahead of both with 91 goals in 144 matches as the Egyptian king of one of the Premier League’s best high-scoring trios.
But Firmino has long established himself as perhaps the most important member of that frontline, the sort of player Liverpool shouldn’t even be entertaining £75m bids for.
The Brazilian featured eight times against Pochettino’s Tottenham, scoring in a pair of 2-1 Premier League wins in 2018/19 and leading the line in Liverpool’s 2019 Champions League final victory, before which Spurs may have made a crucial error.
Firmino also scored the only goal when Liverpool beat Tottenham in January as Jose Mourinho played host in north London.
So next time @OlesAtTheWheel or @McSauce tell you he’s no good, just remind them that one of the best modern managers around rates him quite highly.
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