Jurgen Klopp praises Roberto Firmino's performance in Liverpool win over Stoke
Wednesday 28 December 2016 14:44, UK
Jurgen Klopp said Roberto Firmino deserved his goal in Liverpool’s 4-1 victory over Stoke City at Anfield.
The forward was available for selection despite being charged with drink-driving after he was stopped in Liverpool on Christmas Eve.
Merseyside Police confirmed the arrest and said the Reds forward would appear before magistrates on January 31, the same day Liverpool host Premier League title rivals Chelsea.
Firmino picked up the man-of-the-match award in Liverpool's victory, where he scored the important second goal to give the Reds the lead after falling behind to Jonathan Walters' opening goal.
"He played really well," Klopp said.
"I can't speak about the other issues. He deserved his goal as it's not an easy time for him on the pitch at the moment. He's always important for us. He's always hardworking and always has his moments today. It was a fantastic goal. It was a surprise for everybody that he decided to shoot at that moment."
Stoke more than matched Liverpool for large parts of the match and had a glorious chance to go 2-0 up in the first-half but Joe Allen was thwarted by Simon Mignolet.
Stoke boss Mark Hughes decided to start Peter Crouch instead of Bojan and Klopp admitted his team struggled to deal with the visitors' tactics in the first half.
"It was a very difficult game - the result doesn't show it but it was difficult match," Klopp said.
"Crouchie was the on the pitch, which was a sign of the way they wanted to play. It was difficult to defend against and we could've done better when we had the ball. We didn't have enough patience in the beginning and then when they played long balls it was really difficult to defend against. Even when he gets to 45 he'll still be able to play in a game like this!
"As the same with the Everton game, Stoke showed they couldn't sustain the way they played as it was quite intense. They pressed high and aggressively. We did well with that and deserved the victory in the end."
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