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John Giles' theory on why Firmino isn't on top form

Liverpool have made it through to the Champions League knockout stages and now sit top of the Pre...



John Giles' theory on why...
Videos

John Giles' theory on why Firmino isn't on top form

Liverpool have made it through to the Champions League knockout stages and now sit top of the Premier League. 

But they haven't completely fired on all cylinders in comparison to last season when their front three of Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane regularly tore opposition defences apart.

In a more subtle way than last season, Salah has continued scoring key goals. Meanwhile, Mane has flickered at times, although he missed chance after chance against Napoli on Tuesday. Firmino hasn't been in his best form either.

John Giles' theory on why Firmino isn't on top form

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Ireland and Leeds legend John Giles joined us as always on a Thursday and he shared his theory on why Firmino might be struggling slightly. 

"My own theory on it is that if you look at Salah, he's moved into the centre of the pitch, whereas when he started first, he was playing on the right wing or certainly on the right hand side of Firmino," he said.

"I think with him going into the middle of the field, Firmino doesn't know where to go. That was his best position down the middle, with Mane on one side and Salah on the other side and he was doing his stuff as a front runner. Salah's in that position now.

"So there's nowhere for [Firmino] to go. I mean, if he pushes out to the right, that's not his best position. I think it's good for Salah who will score more goals for them in that position. But for the team, I think Salah should be out on the right hand side and Firmino down the middle."

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