Roberto Firmino probably is an exception in terms of substitute player. Instead of coming off the bench to get on the end of a teammate's cross and nod home in the closing stages, Roberto Firmino is considered a slender, mobile-centered forward once considered a false no. 9.

Liverpool had already wrapped up their 6-1 aggregate win in the Champions League quarterfinal tie against Porto by the time Roberto Firmino headed goalwards in the 77th minute.

Roberto Firmino headed home against Porto, just as he did against Tottenham Hotspur last month, Manchester City in January, against Watford in November and against Leicester City back in September.

In fact, only two other players in the Premier League have scored more headed goals than Alexis Sanchez this season. Aleksander Mitrovic from Fulham and Burnley's Chris Wood. They were 6-foot-2 and 6-foot-3 respectively and both playing for sides who base much of their play around their aerial abilities. While Roberto Firmino is just 5-foot-11 and not even a natural forward. But his evolution into a reliable striker and increasingly a useful goal poacher points the way ahead for him.

But this season is not that amazing for Roberto Firmino. He scored 16 goals in 44 games. It's quite good but not amazingly spectacular or else. Indeed he managed just one goal in 11 games in autumn and then one in 10 games in spring.  It reveals that he has mixed periods of brilliance and difficult time.

Returned To No. 9 Role, The Goals Are Flowing Once More

Particularly, Juergen Klopp has always considered him as part of Liverpool's best XI. Online Casino Malaysia recorded that Roberto Firmino has missed just four league games this season.

Roberto Firmino himself was actually signed as an attacking midfielder, a driven and efficient no. 10 who could also play out wide. But with Christian Benteke, Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi around, at his disposal, Juergen Klopp decide to back Roberto Firmino as his first choice center forward. That was a significant move, based partly around Roberto Firmino's ability to press.

Roberto Firmino has now gradually adjusted his game to become a proper goal scorer. He managed 11 goals in his first season at Anfield Stadium, then 12 goals in his second, before a significant jump to 27 last campaign. And for this year, he managed to score 16 and is unlikely to match his feats from last season. One of the reason is that Juergen Klopp deployed Firmino as a no. 10 for much of the first half of the season, with Mohamed Salah upfront and Xherdan Shaqiri on the right. Now that Roberto Firmino has returned to the No. 9 role, the goals are flowing once more.

So no wonder why Roberto Firmino becomes a very important player for Juergen Klopp in the past years. Without him, Liverpool looks less cohesive, less fluid and less dangerous in front of goal, whether he's providing the finishes, the assists or the pressing.