The world’s most expensive footballer had been a doubt for this summer’s World Cup in recent months due to an injury, but he showed little signs of rust with a fine solo effort to fire Tite’s side to the win on Merseyside.
Browsing: Anfield
Gerrard said: “I am honoured to become the next manager of Rangers. I have enormous respect for this football club, and its history and tradition.
Firmino, whose existing deal ran until 2020, has been rewarded for a fruitful season which has seen him score 27 goals, his most prolific campaign to date.
The Reds blew away their opponents in the first half, netting three times in the space of 19 minutes to take complete control of the all-English affair.
City’s 4-3 defeat at Liverpool in January was their only loss against a English Premier League side this season.
Watford also suffered defeat last weekend as they went down 3-0 at Arsenal, and back-to-back away trips to top-six opposition will be a test of how far they have come under new manager Javi Gracia.
Mohamed Salah continued his fine form in front of goal to send Liverpool into half time with the lead, and Sadio Mane added the second after the interval as the Reds cruised to all three points.
The Reds have been in fine form for the past four months, losing just two games in all competitions since the end of October to ensure that they remain on track to hit their targets for the campaign.
The Dutchman, signed last week from Southampton for a reported fee of 75 million pounds, rose inside the area to head home an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain corner kick.
The Reds fell behind after less than three minutes as Jamie Vardy continued his remarkable record against the Merseysiders, and despite creating a string of chances the hosts could not restore parity before half time.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Philippe Coutinho put Liverpool ahead at Anfield after six minutes and Firmino doubled the lead shortly after halftime.
His worry is that things could get worse for his English Premier League side if they fail to get it right in the transfer market in January.