Jurgen Klopp Lauds 'Unbelievably Valuable' Roberto Firmino After Ending Goal Drought at Watford

Jurgen Klopp has backed Roberto Firmino to silence his critics after the Brazilian striker scored his first Premier League goal for more than two months in

Jurgen Klopp has backed Roberto Firmino to silence his critics after the Brazilian striker scored his first Premier League goal for more than two months in Saturday's win over Watford.

Firmino's header was the third of three second half goals for Liverpool as they stayed in touch with Manchester City at the top of the table and his first goal in the league since scoring against Tottenham on September 15.

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He also played a part in Mohamed Salah's opener and won the free kick from which Trent Alexander-Arnold made it 2-0. Klopp was visibly delighted when Firmino scored and lavished the striker with praise after the match.

"It all depends to what you want to see, what you expect, with what you compare it to," said the Liverpool boss, as quoted by Sky Sports News.

"In the game against Fulham, 20 German coaches were in the stadium - I'm not sure how the critics were but when I saw them and we had a drink together, they were saying 'Bobby Firmino! What a player!'

"Because of the small things he's doing, he's working so hard, he's here, he's there, he's got six goals but he opens 5,000 gaps for everybody.

"He's doing the job - that makes him so unbelievably valuable for us. I'm really happy for him."

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Saturday's win means that Liverpool are still unbeaten in the Premier League and remain just two points behind Manchester City despite the champions' relentless form.

Klopp's men have a crucial week ahead as they face Paris Saint-Germain in a Champions League six-pointer on Wednesday before the first Merseyside Derby of the season against Everton next Sunday.