McManaman praises Firmino’s reaction to critics

Firmino’s

place in

Klopp’s

first-team was endangered by

Diogo Jota’s

arrival, who signed for a £41million fee from

Wolves

this summer.

Jota

scored nine goals in his first 17 appearances for the Reds before being sidelined because of a knee injury last week.

The Portuguese's great form led fans and experts to suggest he must start ahead of

Firmino

. However, the Brazilian was able to silence the critics by scoring a winner against

Tottenham

last week and a decent performance during the Reds’ 7-0 victory over

Crystal Palace

.

Former Liverpool’s winger,

Steve McManaman

, was happy to see him prove his skeptics wrong:

“It’s incredible, the fact he was, not criticised, but certainly questioned in his ability and whether he should be in the Liverpool XI,”

McManaman told BT Sport after his old club's win at Selhurst Park.

“Yes, Diogo Jota came in and had a blistering start to his career at Liverpool, but people were almost putting this man out to pasture.

“And he’s bounced back by scoring a lovely goal against Tottenham. He was exceptional [against Palace]. It wasn’t just his goals, it was his all-round play, link-up play, his assists.

“The fact that he finished them off with a couple himself was brilliant.”

Liverpool

will play

West Brom

at Anfield on December 27. They are currently leading the table with a four-point clearance.