Simon Mignolet reckons that two of his Club Brugge team-mates are better finishers than Roberto Firmino, one of the world’s best all-round forwards.
Our former Belgian keeper, who departed in the summer for his homeland, has claimed that Hans Vanaken (27) and Ruud Vormer (31) are more deadly in front of goal than Bobby – who according to the song – scores every time!
‘Both Hans and Ruud are very good finishers,’ he told Het Laaste Nieuws.
‘Firmino and Mo [Salah] are of course incredible football players, but Firmino is not a born killer.
‘Hans and Ruud should certainly not be inferior to Bobby in terms of finishing.
‘I even dare to say that Hans and Ruud on that are better than Roberto Firmino. And that they are of a comparable level to Mo.’
We’d perhaps have a little more respect for these comments if the numbers didn’t suggest otherwise…
Vormer has three goals in 30 matches this season, while Vanaken is on a decent return of 13 from 33…
Neither has ever bagged over 20 in a season, while Firmino is on nine for this term and his best return is 27.
While we’d agree that Bobby’s best attribute isn’t his finishing – he’s far more comfortable creating – it’s a little ridiculous to suggest these two average players are better than him in front of goal.
Firmino has 75 goals for Liverpool – and we’d be very, very surprised if Vanaken or Vormer managed such a tally for the world’s best team!
Oh well – we suppose Mignolet is trying to fill his new team-mates with confidence – and we shouldn’t begrudge him that.