The players were recruited in the same window for similar fees and, while the plan was to build around the Belgian, the Brazilian has been the true star.
When Crystal Palace parted with 27 million pounds ($32M) up front and agreed to a further £5 million in add-ons to prise Christian Benteke from Liverpool, Alan Pardew predicted the new signing would become “iconic” for the club.
The striker was far removed from such a description during his sole season on Merseyside, but his seminal moment for the Reds interestingly materialized at Selhurst Park.
Saturday’s fixture between the sides will mark 237 days since Damien Delaney’s knee knocked into Benteke’s ankle, with Andre Marriner awarding a penalty after consulting with his assistant.
Having not scored for 715 minutes, and with seconds left to play, the forward put the ball beyond Alex McCarthy and the game beyond Palace. Liverpool had secured a 2-1 victory and Benteke, who pushed and probed upon his introduction with 80 on the clock, secured a standing ovation and applause from the 3,000 traveling supporters.
“He was the perfect change for us,” Jurgen Klopp said post-match. “He worked really, really hard and his first touch when he came on was a big chance. The penalty was all his because he made the move and he wanted to force the situation.”
It wasn’t often enough that the last line could be applied to Benteke during his Anfield spell, largely due to design rather than a lack of diligence.
When Liverpool, under the instruction of former manager Brendan Rodgers, made the Belgium international its principal target in the summer of 2015, sirens were sounded. An experienced and explosive figure, there were no question marks surrounding Benteke’s quality, but plenty to suggest he was at odds with the fast, fluid football expected from the club.
Sixteen days before Rodgers finally got his target, Roberto Firmino — Liverpool’s other scorer from the March victory at Palace — was signed. The buying of the Brazilian was a compromise — he was the attacker the recruitment team identified as the perfect fit to re-energize a depressing front line, but the then Reds boss believed his team should be built around Benteke.
And so, for the Northern Irishman to land his man, the no-longer-as-oft-referenced transfer committee was allowed to move for Firmino. He started half of the eight games he was available for under Rodgers, and his appearances seemed more of a concession than a show of confidence in the 25-year-old’s abilities.
If he’s honest, the man now in the Glasgow Celtic dugout will look back at his perception and use of both players as a gigantic error.
The Brazil international, quietly one of Liverpool’s most effective and influential tools, has shown as much under Klopp.
By the time the duo had scored against Alan Pardew’s side seven months ago, Firmino had been involved in more Premier League goals in 2016 than any other player. His punishing of McCarthy’s mistake in the 72nd minute at Palace had been his seventh of the year. In contrast, Benteke’s penalty at the death was his first successful effort since the end of December 2015.
The pair — signed in the same window for close to the same sort of fee, both instrumental in Liverpool picking up maximum points in its last trip to Croydon, each on three league goals this season, and both due to lead the line for their respective sides this weekend — couldn’t be more of a contradiction football-wise.
Firmino has created 15 more chances in England’s top flight than his counterpart and played more than double the amount of successful passes, with a competition rate of 80 percent. He has won six more fouls and the same number of interceptions, while also boasting a 71 percent shot accuracy against Benteke’s 29 percent.
The Eagles’ ace dominates in the air, but that’s about his only advantage over his former teammate.
In Saturday’s late kickoff, Benteke will be determined to prove a point against Liverpool. Firmino, with a hand in 17 goals for his club this year, has nothing he needs to substantiate.
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