The last day of August 2019 and Liverpool have just beaten Burnley 3-0 at Turf Moor with a display that is as dominant as it is devastating. But all is not well in the visitors’ ranks given Sadio Mané’s angry reaction to being substituted late on after becoming increasingly frustrated with Mohamed Salah’s failure to pass to him. All eyes are consequently on the pair as they head back to the dressing room, yet ultimately it is the other member of Liverpool’s frontline who catches the attention as he walks between them. Looking directly at camera, Roberto Firmino stops, blows out his cheeks, smirks, then smirks again.
It was a wonderful moment and one many Liverpool supporters are no doubt reflecting on as they digest the news that Firmino has decided to leave the club in the summer. Because for them he has not just been a brilliantly influential part of the Jürgen Klopp era but, more than any other player, encapsulated the sheer joy of it, too. The smirks, the smiles, the no-look goals and Kung fu-kick celebrations; “Bobby” delighted Kopites in so many ways, over and over again.
